


The Ice Maiden and the Dragonborn

by TheReviewess



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Frozen (2013)
Genre: Dragonborn!Anna, F/F, Mage!Elsa, Many Characters - Freeform, Slight God!Elsa, many OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-10 17:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 75,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3298277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheReviewess/pseuds/TheReviewess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skyrim Elsanna AU: This was not how Elsa had pictured her day going. She should be returning back to Solitude; not stuck in some carriage with thieves, murderous Stormcloaks, and a member of the Companions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Khajiit Princess

Racing through the old streets, a young blonde girl ran, terrified. She wore what seemed to be a fur dress and fur lined boots. Trailing behind the dress seemed to be a long strand of cloth and fur that resembled a tail. On her head was a fur hat which seemed to belong to a man from the way it fell over her eyes. On the hat were two large points. They were quite furry and matched the dress perfectly. It was as if this girl was trying to intimidate a Khajiit.

The girl ran until she reached a massive stone building, the famed Blue Palace of Solitude. From what she had heard, the palace was an open forum where those in need could speak. At least that was what Dra'kiraya had told her. The young girl really hoped that the old Khajiit was right. The young blonde stared up at the wooden door, panting heavily and then she shoved it open. Without stopping to catch her breath, she ran through the entry and right up the circular staircase. The girl didn't stop her running until she was at the foot of the throne of the High King of Skyrim.

"Your Majesty!" The girl cried out, throwing herself at his feet. "Please help! Khajiit's pack is getting attacked! Please Majesty!" The girl's icy blue eyes filled with tears but she kept her head down at the man's feet.

The High King stared down at the young child in shock. Not many little girls would run straight to him to help. Normally they would run to the guards for help. The man's housecarl had his blade drawn and ready to tear the girl off of his feet. With a wave of his hands, the housecarl backed down. The way this girl spoke, it was very similar to the speech patterns of Khajiit. He also noted the fur lined dress, boots and hat with pointed parts that resembled ears.

"Now now little one. Why come to me when you can go to the guards? They would help you right out." The High King said in a kindly voice. He reached down and gripped the girl under her arms. Then his all his Nord strength, he picked her up to her feet to get a better look at her.

"The guards are attacking them!" The girl whined out. She was quite small and very thin. Dirt covered her face and got into her blonde hair that could be seen poking out from under her massive hat. "Khajiit were trying to get cub a room tonight for sleep. The guard pulled them out and began to attack! High King must help Khajiit. Khajiit have done nothing wrong! Dra'kiraya said that High King would help Khajiit! Please?"

"Majesty, you really aren't thinking of helping? She's with those thieving Khajiit." One of the members of the court asked the High King. 

"She even acts as one. By the way she's dressed, she looks like she wants to be a Cat." Another spat out.

"Dra'kiraya is no a thief! None of the pack is!" The girl cried out, enraged that they would just assume such things. They didn't know her family and how kind they were.

"I believe it is a matter I will look into." The High King decided quickly. "Come Torygg, I want to come with me." At the mention of his name, a young dark haired man leaped up to follow the High King. Removing himself from his throne, he turned his attention to the girl. "Bring me to your family." The High King commanded. 

Without hesitating, the young blonde grabbed his hand and raced down the steps and out the building. At first, King Istlod tripped over his feet, as he remarked how speedy the girl was. As they raced through the streets, even Torygg had issued keeping up with the two. After a few moments, they arrived at the front of the inn. There they were greeted by seven guards attacking a small group of Khajiit. Only two were left standing at this point. The first was a tall male wielding two steel swords. He seemed to be weakening, but he was definitely protecting an older female Khajiit who was using two iron daggers. 

"No! J'fabil!" The girl screeched out as a sword plunged through the younger Khajiit male. The young Khajiit fell and the guards turned to the dagger wielding female. They quickly raced toward her, weapons ready to attack. "Dra'kiraya!" She screamed. Instead of standing there, the fur clad girl raced toward the fighting. "NO! STOP!" She screamed, extending her arms. Just as she did that, ice erupted from her fingertips and stopped the guard in their tracks. Large icicles shot up through the ground, forming a wall between the older Khajiit and the guards.

At that moment, everyone went silent. All eyes were on the small blonde girl. Her hands were still extended from her position behind the guards. Anyone with half a brain could tell that the magic just performed was no ordinary magic. While she could have read spell books, she looked far too young to actually be able to comprehend the spells, much less use them. Not to mention, walls of ice and freezing guards in blocks of ice were not standard spells. To be able to perform anything like that, surely an individual must be trained in the arcane arts before being able to attempt such feats. 

It was the Khajiit seemed to be the first person to recover. She sheathed her weapons and raced toward the young girl. Seeing that the Khajiit was alright, the girl raced toward her and leaped into her arms. It seemed as if the female Khajiit knew of the girl's abilities with ice.

"Dra'kiraya!" The girl cried out happily. She buried her face into the older female's warm fuzzy pelt and cried with happiness. "Cub is sorry! Ma'elsa tried to get help as fast! But cub was too slow and the pack has fallen because of cub!" The young blonde whimpered out, sadly.

"Ma'elsa, you did what you could, and that is all the pack has ever asked of you my cub." The Khajiit known as Dra'kiraya cooed back to her in the typical raspy voice that all Khajiit were known for. She adjusted the girl so that now the blonde was resting up against her hips. Young Ma'elsa clung to the creamy colored Khajiit as if her life depended on it. Not even a dragon could keep her from letting go. Dra'kiraya padded up to the High King and Torygg and gave a small, rather awkward, curtsy to them.

"Thank you, High King of Skyrim, for helping Khajiit and cub. You are most kind." Dra'kiraya rasped out in a respectful manner.

The High King glanced at the young girl. She refused to meet his eyes contact. Instead she shied away, hiding her face in Dra'kiraya's fur. "When she told me it was my guards attacking your people, I couldn't sit around and let it happen. Such prejudices are not tolerated in my city."

"You are most kind then. Dra'kiraya is glad that cub had found you." The Khajiit said to him.

The High King nodded awkwardly. He had very few encounters with the natives of Elsweyr. As a boy he had studied much about their culture but speaking with one was very different than speaking with a Nord. After an awkward moment, Istlod spoke. "Are the fallen all of your family that you... cub, was referring to?"

"Yes." She hissed out. It sounded angry but also very sad. "Most disheartening. We are all that is left." The female's eyes looked down at the little girl who was known as her cub. Her golden eyes met with the girl's icy blue irises for just a moment, before the girl buried her face back into the Khajiit's fur.

The High King nodded. He quickly excused himself and turned to his son, Torygg. Now Torygg was a good son and a good man. He had recently become engaged to a beautiful woman, Elisif. Soon Torygg would be taking over as Jarl of Solitude and High King of Skyrim. After all, Istlod was getting older. The two discussed what their next course of action should be regarding the Khajiit and the girl (who was definitely a Nord). Seeing that it was their guards who had killed the child's family, it was their fault. Khajiit were hardly welcomed in any Nord city. It would be difficult to raise a little girl without a steady income to provide for her.

"Why not take her in. Adopt her as my younger sister. The Khajiit can be her caretaker. I'm sure Sybille wouldn't mind taking a break from raising a child." Torygg suggested with a small grin on his face. Despite what a goon man he was now, Torygg was a slight troublemaker as a child. Istlod's court wizard was always racing after him. However Istlod was not convinced. "You did say you always wanted a girl." Torygg said again, seeing that his father wasn't completely sold on his first suggestion. However once he brought up Istlod's desire for a daughter, the High King gave in. He did always want a little girl to spoil.

"I will approve of the idea only if you are the one to teach her and make sure that she is well educated..." The man turned to see that his guards were slowly breaking free of the ice spell the girl had put them under. "We're also going to have Sybille train her in magic."

"Aye... That would be for the best."

With their agreement struck, the duo faced the Khajiit and her young cub. Both men wore grins on their faces and they explained their offer to Dra'kiraya. Golden eyes widened as she listened to their offer. She could definitely see that their offer was the best that she would most likely ever get. Having Ma'elsa live in the Blue Palace as the adopted daughter of the Jarl and High King would offer her cub the ultimate protection. The offer was even better when they would allow her to act as the girl's caretaker. Almost instantly she accepted. Traveling the harsh lands of Skyrim was no way to raise a cub. If they were in her home of Elsweyr then Dra'kiraya could do so, but Skyrim was unfamiliar to both of them.

The High King quickly ordered his guards to clean up the bodies and have them sent to the Hall of the Dead. The four fallen Khajiit would be the first of their kind ever laid to rest in a Nord city. Once that order was seen to, the small group ventured back to the Blue Palace where they would start their new life.

Once the group had arrived, it was Torygg who set up a room for the two females. He sent a nice hot meal up to them and sent them new clothes. Ma'elsa didn't want to put on her new clothes. Apparently her furs had sentimental value. Thankfully Dra'kiraya managed to coax the girl into her newer and far nicer clothes. Ma'elsa wasn't pleased but when the Khajiit woman promised that she would fashion a pair of new furs for her cub, Ma'elsa seemed fine with the deal.

Ma'elsa, instead of furs, wore a light blue dress. Her sleeves were white as was the hem of her dress. She was given a pair of warm fur lined boots and a simple white hat. The girl didn't much like the hat though. Dra'kiraya forced her to wear it anyway. She also forced the girl to fix her long tangled mess of a mane. The cream colored Khajiit managed to use her nimble fingers and a comb to smooth out any tangles in her cub's mane.

"Your mane will be the envy of many, cub." The old cat commented as she began to pull it back out of her face. Her old fingers easily tied it back in a simple pony tail. "It is softer than the softest of pelt in Elsweyr and the color of sun on the snow in this strange land." Ma'elsa turned around and grinned shyly at her motherly figure. Rising to her toes, Ma'elsa pressed her nose gently against Dra'kiraya's. After parting, both female's grinned happily. "Now cub, come Khajiit must go greet Ma'elsa's new pack."

Meeting her new pack was something that Ma'elsa was nervous about. As the two entered into the court, they were greeted with the sight of almost twenty Nords, staring at her and looking right at her. The only two familiar faces were the High King and Torygg, his son. The High King of Skyrim sat upon his throne. Next to him Torygg stood with his arm out. A young beautiful woman had taken his arms and peered at the Khajiit and her cub curiously. Off to the side, a woman in dark mage robes was standing and seemingly judging them. On the other side of the court stood multiple armored guards. These guards seemed different than the city guards. They were far more intimidating for Ma'elsa. Sitting by the armored guards were men and women alike dressed in very finely made clothing. The whole sight was intimidating for the small girl.

Finally Ma'elsa tugged on Dra'kiraya's sleeve gently. The golden eyed Khajiit looked down to meet the blue gaze of her charge. Quickly she dropped down to the girl's level so that she could speak. Ma'elsa rose to her toes and cupped her hands around the Khajiit's ear. With her eyes looking over at the small crowd of people, she asked her question.

"Are all these Nords my new pack?" 

Her voice wasn't as quiet as she had thought. From his throne, the High King cracked a small smile. Next to him, Torygg was trying to hold in a small chuckle. The woman attached to his arm was unable to hold back her laughter though. She quickly brought her free hand up to her lips to hide her giggle as best as possible.

"I assure you, child, I am no Nord." It was the woman clad in mage robe who spoke up. She looked almost insulted to have been compared to one.

Upon realizing that she had been heard, Ma'elsa rushed behind her caregiver and peered out from behind her legs. The girl was, overall, very shy and timid. The women of the court (with the exception of the mage) couldn't help but find her absolutely adorable. Even the High King of Skyrim couldn't help but find her absolutely adorable. Rising off his throne, he slowly walked up to the two newcomers. Once he was just a few steps away from them, he knelt down and extended his hand. 

Ma'elsa was still hiding behind Dra'kiraya. When she saw the High King come down to her level, she became less afraid of him. Once he extended his hand to her, Dra'kiraya gently nudged the young girl toward him. Ma'elsa stumbled toward the man and gently grabbed hold of his massive hand. In all actuality, she was only able to hold onto two of his fingers. Istlod gently pulled Ma'elsa toward him and then scooped her up in his strong arms. The girl was stunned and instantly grabbed hold of his fine clothing as tight as she could. Bits of frost formed between her small fingers.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court," The High King boomed with a smile. "Let me introduce you to my new daughter." Light applause sounded through the court after that. "The Khajiit know her as Ma'elsa, but here in court she will be known as simply Elsa." More polite applause filled the court.

After the king's statement, Torygg approached the two with the beautiful woman. "Hello Elsa, my name is Torygg. I'm going to be your big brother." The young man gave a kind smile which his new little sister returned.

"My name is Elisif. " The woman spoke, she too seemed nice. "I'm going to be married to Torygg soon. So that will make us sisters."

"Ma'elsa is happy to meet you." The girl said quietly. "Oh! Elsa! Elsa is happy to meet you. Not Ma'elsa." She quickly amended. The three knew that it would take Elsa quite some time to start speaking like a true Nord and not like a Khajiit. It would be a lot of work, but it was something that the three of them could handle.

The rest of the day was spent with Torygg and Elisif showing Elsa and Dra'kiraya around the Blue Palace and Solitude. Many citizens did not seem to trust Dra'kiraya, as she was a Khajiit. However both Torygg and Elisif made it quite clear that the elderly Khajiit would be treated with the utmost respect. No one dared argue with the son of the High King, but they still did not trust the Khajiit.

By the end of the day, all four people were exhausted. Young Elsa had insisted that they go down to the docks because she wanted to see the boats. Down there she was accidentally knocked off the docks. Somehow she had caught herself on a platform of ice that had formed under her. This, naturally, terrified all the guards. The had started spouting off nonsense about how she was cursed with magic. One angry look from Torygg quieted them down enough to help Elsa climb out of the Solitude Inlet. After the whole dock fiasco, it was decided quickly that it was time to return to the Blue Palace.

That night, Elsa and Dra'kiraya settled down in their room. The room had two single beds, one for the Khajiit and the other for Elsa. Once their head hit the pillows, they were both fast asleep. From this day on, Ma'elsa of the Khajiit Caravans would be known as High Princess Elsa of Skyrim.


	2. The Bubbly Companion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elsa's family history is summarized up until her 22nd birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We meet Anna this chapter! I figured I should put this up now before I become busy. I won't post much of anything until later next week. Have a great weekend all!

This was not how Ma'elsa had pictured her day going...

It had gone off to a great start. The young blonde woman had been staying as an honored guest with Thane Maven Black-Briar of Riften while she had some time off of her training with the Greybeards. Her sister had begged her to help get the mead maker as an ally in the current Civil War. After all, Maven had ties everywhere that was important. Having such an influential woman on their side in this rebellion would be very helpful to Solitude and to the Imperial Legion as well. The blonde woman couldn't refuse her sister, so she took time off to strike up a deal with the cunning woman. 

Ma'elsa had done her job and Maven Black-Briar was on their side. It would be too dangerous to try and convince the Jarl of Riften to join the favor of the Imperials. She was loyal to the 'Usurper's' cause it seemed. Though her 'loyal' thane and her ties to the Thieves Guild should be more than enough to help the Imperial's cause. If this so called guild was as skilled as they claimed to be, they could prove to be a valuable asset. Ma'elsa had met the thieves and enjoyed their company, but even she knew how poorly their faction was doing. While Ma'elsa was sure that her sister would not be using the thieves; Jarl Elisif was far too noble for that. General Tullius would refuse as well, but maybe the Legate Rikke would be smart enough to use them. How the members of the Thieves Guild were used, was unimportant. Such things mattered little Ma'elsa anyway. While she was under the tutelage of the Greybeards, she had turned herself away from worldly matters.

The blonde woman had been studying up at High Hrothgar ever since she had surpassed Sybille Stentor in her icy abilities. While the vampiric mage had no knowledge of why the woman had such abilities, she did do her best to educate her pupil in the arcane arts. Ma'elsa had proved to be rather skilled in conjuration and destruction magic. The rest of her magic could use some work though. While her ice abilities were strong as a child, they only grew stronger as she grew older. At times, they were uncontrollable. If angered or saddened, her powers were sent spiraling out of control. This fact had been proven when Elsa trapped the entirety of Solitude in a snowstorm because she did not want to eat some lettuce. After that debacle, Torygg and Istlod decided it best to take Elsa away from the city for magic practice (Sybille readily agreed with that).

The woman had studied hard in her early years at the insistence of her elder brother Torygg. The man had been the reason that the blonde was so brilliant as of now. She would study for hours and Torygg was her tutor. Alongside Elisif, the two taught her everything they possibly could. The blonde had proved to be incredibly intelligent. She picked up politics and her studies very quickly with their help. 

Elisif had been able to mold her into the perfect Princess. She sat like a lady, ate like a lady and she had dutifully attended and spoke in court when needed. During her time in Solitude, she was known as Lady Elsa to the local Nord population. Those who came to do business with her father, usually on behalf of the Emperor, would refer to her as High Princess Elsa of Skyrim. Being referred to as the High Princess was odd, given the obnoxiously long title. It didn't roll of the tongue like High King of High Queen did. She much preferred to simply be known as Lady Elsa. That title was simple and sweet. Many of the Emperor's subject's sung praises of the girl from Skyrim to Cyrodiil. Her beauty and grace was known through all of Tamriel even while she was still just a girl. Once she had turned twelve, a son of an ambassador was so much in love with her, he had begged for her hand in marriage. In shock, Elsa had frozen over the entire floor of the palace. It took Torygg and Elisif quite some time to calm her down. While it was a hilarious incident (looking back on it), it was also the last time that proposals were made in front of Elsa. Such matters were taken to the High King first (and also rejected instantly).

While Elisif taught the girl to be a proper lady, Torygg had taught her to fight! While Sybille trained her in magic, Torygg had trained her in fighting along with Dra'kiraya. It had quickly been discovered that the blonde was skilled with blades. Swords to be exact. Both her Khajiit mother and her Nord brother had approved. After her morning studies, she was quickly shuffled out to the courtyard where she and Torygg would battle it out until supper. Then they ate and Elisif would take over her training as a proper lady until bed. Once Elsa was taught the Bound Sword spell, she would practice with her conjured weapon. However, as a birthday present, Torygg had commissioned a lovely steel sword for his sister. It was made of Skyforge Steel! Torygg had begged Eorlund Gray-Mane to make it for her. After much begging, the smith made it, and had it enchanted to withstand Elsa's ice. Since she received it, Elsa carried the blade with her everywhere.

Young Ma'elsa, or Elsa to her family, went through much training in her years in Solitude. Once she had turned seventeen, she had completely surpassed even Sybille Stentor in her magical capabilities. The College of Winterhold had refused to take on the Ice Mage as her power had grown quite a lot. While her powers were strong, they were still unable to be controlled completely. Great emotional outbursts would trigger massive snowstorms that could cover entire holds. With the local Nord population in Winterhold angered with the College of Winterhold, it was in their best interests to keep the Princess away until she had full mastery of her skills. After that, the College was open to her. Considering that she had trapped Solitude in a snowstorm at age nine, the entire family understood completely. Still, there was no denying that she needed to go and learn to better control her icy abilities.

So, instead of Winterhold, Elsa took it upon herself to go on a pilgrimage to High Hrothgar. It had been said that they took on disciples who wished to earn The Way of the Voice. Knowing this could be her only chance to subdue her abilities, Elsa climbed the 7,000 Steps like many of her kinsmen before her. Upon arriving, it seemed as if the Greybeards had already knew of her coming. The young woman was definitely shocked at hearing that. She was more shocked when that knew of her powers and her reason for coming. In the ends, the Greybeards took in the woman and taught her everything they could about The Way of the Voice. Knowing that she was skilled with ice and snow, they decided it best to teach her the shouts relating to her abilities. For hours she poured over tomes and took in everything the Greybeards could teach her. During her time with the four Masters of the Voice, she had reverted to her old name: Ma'elsa. She did not wish to be Princess Elsa, or Lady Elsa with the Masters. Instead Ma'elsa fit her better.

Studying under the Greybeards was good for Ma'elsa. Not only did they instruct her in the ways of Dragon Language, but they helped her keep her emotions under control. Like the Greybeards, Ma'elsa had become fluent in Dragon Language. After her first two years at High Hrothgar, the group only communicated with each other in that language. Ma'elsa took to The Way of the Voice very well in their eyes. The inner peace and meditation had given her much better control over her emotions. Because if this, she was able to learn how to use the Voice and keep her abilities under her control. For five years, Ma'elsa had stayed up at High Hrothgar. Not completely but mostly. Ma'elsa would often be the one to go and fetch food from Ivarstead. Being a young woman, she could climb the 7,000 Steps easier than many of the village people.

Down in Ivarstead, she would receive messages from her family periodically. The innkeeper, Wilhelm, would pass along letters from a courier to her and the young woman would give messages to have him send out. Most of the time it was her family, however she did get a few letters from some of the citizens of Haafingar. Dra'kiraya wrote often, as did her father and Torygg. Elisif less so, but she and her brother were trying to have a baby and she was far more concerned about that. Ma'elsa didn't mind that one bit. They would send their love through Torygg (who would no doubt read the letter to his young wife). It wasn't until her twenty second birthday (which they celebrated it on the day of her finding) did she get a message to return to Solitude. It was only temporary though. Her brother, Torygg was to be crowned High King soon. King Istlod had passed on in his sleep a few months prior and the Moot of Jarls had finally been called. Istlod had demanded that his daughter stay and train with the Greybeards when he had passed on, so this would be her first time returning to Solitude after five years. As the sister to the soon to be High King of Skyrim, Ma'elsa decided it was time to leave High Hrothgar. She had informed the Masters that she had family matters to attend to but she would return to further her studies. The five of them had willingly let the young woman leave and wished her safe travels.

Ma'elsa had returned back to Solitude just as the Moot had ended. She was present when Torygg was crowned High King and there was plenty of celebrating throughout Solitude. On the day of the coronation, the Bard's College hosted a massive celebration. The College was the largest place where all citizens, noble and common, could gather for celebration. The people drank, sang and made merry. No one was exempt from the festivities, not even Gisli, Erikur's sister. Every man woman and child were made to sing one ballad, some even two! Some sang in groups, other sang solo. Even High King Torygg had sang a tune! He sang quite a few times before Elisif had dragged the newly crowned High King away so that she could dance with him. 

The Lady Elsa had danced with many people, both commoner and not. With all the happiness around her, she could not find it in her heart to decline anyone who asked for a dance. The Princess had even danced with Kayd, the son of the Solitude Blacksmith. At some point she and Elisif danced together while the Master Vocalist, Pantea Atea, had stolen the blonde's brother. Neither woman minded, the night was far too fun to let silly things bring down their spirits. Not only did they dance together (twice actually), the two were even forced to sing for the festivities. Neither woman remembered much but it was hilarious. Somehow they had attempted to do some sort of strange Duet version of 'Ragnar the Red.' That was utterly hilarious and it had completely blown up in their faces. After their failure, the two females scurried away, laughing. Clearly they had drank far too much of San's Spiced Wine. Although, they weren't the only ones. 

Later that night, Elsa had been forced to return to the stage to sing again. This time she had sung 'The Dragonborn Comes.' At the end of her beautiful rendition, Elsa had finished the song with one of the Shouts she had learned in High Hrothgar, Frost Breath. With her head pointed toward the sky, she shouted and flurries of snow and ice shot into the air. The sound and sight of someone using the Voice was a marvel to behold, not to mention it ended the song quite well. At some point, Viarmo had begged Torygg to let his sister train at the college but Torygg had told the Headmaster that his sister was far too busy studying at High Hrothgar to take any more time off.

When the Bards had said no one would get out of singing, they had meant it. Even Dra'kiraya (who was now referred as Ra'kiraya by the Khajiit that came to Skyrim) had celebrated with them. She sang many songs from Elsweyr. Many of the party-goers listened to the Khajiit's songs, interested. She had sang quite a few song that had seemed to be lost or unrecorded from other countries. Despite her raspy Khajiit voice, the tunes she had sung were very well done. Most of the people there just stared in awe as the Khajiit had sang. The bards were thrilled with that and begged her to write the thought to be lost songs down for them. The creamy Khajiit had agreed and there was even more rejoicing. This time it was mostly from the Bards.

After all her years in Solitude, many of the residents began to trust her. She had proven herself to be incredibly kind and helpful. In Torygg's court, the old Khajiit was taken incredibly seriously. She proved herself to be exceedingly brilliant in political matters and a very good deal maker. When court was not in session, she was found helping in the Temple of the Divines. Under her supervision, she let Khajiit come in and worship the divines. Ra'kiraya had become instrumental in fighting the racism regarding her people. Many outsiders were still not trusted in the city, but seeing them with the elder Khajiit, the citizens were put more at ease. The creamy colored Khajiit had stayed in Solitude even though her cub was sent to study elsewhere. She still referred to Ma'elsa as her Khajiit title though. Ra'kiraya had decided that once her cub's name was changed, she would return to Elsweyr with the rest of the pack. Until then, she remained in Solitude. 

After a long week of straight celebrating, Elsa returned back to High Hrothgar and resumed her studies as Ma'elsa. While she had loved her time with her family, she was eager to return to learn more of what her five masters could teach her. Upon her return, Ma'elsa was sent to the Throat of the World where she had finally earned the privilege to study under Paarthurnax. Ma'elsa lived in a tent on the mountain and meditated with the elderly dragon. Her time there was limited though. Less than a year later, Ma'elsa had mastered every shout relating to snow and ice but she had also learned the Whirlwind Sprint, Clear Skies and lastly, Unrelenting Force. It was after learning this, that she received the news. Torygg was killed. Without hesitating, she had returned home to Solitude for her brother's funeral. None of the masters even tried to stop the young woman, they simply let her leave with the promise that High Hrothgar would be open to her should she need it.

For a full month, Elsa remained in Solitude, mourning the loss of her brother. She often visited the Hall of the Dead to see him, her father and the rest of her pack that was killed when she was found in Haafingar. During this time, Elsa had to decline the throne and hand it over to Elisif. Her sister in law was far older and she knew more about Solitude now. Elsa had been the preferred Jarl, but she still had more training in The Way and she could not put Solitude in harms way while she practiced her skills. This decision was something that the Lady Elsa held firm about. Many tried to convince her against it, even Elisif but Elsa would not be swayed. In the end, Elsa had agreed to run errands for Elisif and on her behalf. The blonde was very good at negotiating deals and she would be a great help now that Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak had started his rebellion. General Tullius had been sent by the Emperor himself to try and quell it. Elsa didn't believe that he knew Skyrim very well but Legate Rikke was under his command and she would help him see their way.

After sealing their deal, it was decided that Elsa would be working closely with the Legate. Since she was still in training, she wouldn't be very useful to send out. However if there were any leads on potential allies for the Imperial Legion, Elsa would do her best to secure them. That was exactly what she was doing with Maven Black-Briar. It took Ma'elsa (as she used her Khajiit name while away from Solitude) close to a week to get the woman to agree. During that time, she was able to explore Riften better. She had even met members of the Thieves Guild. They had actually remembered her from her younger years with the Khajiit. Using the thieves, Elsa finally got Maven to agree. 

Now she was on her way back to High Hrothgar. On her way, she had stopped in Shor's Stone and offered to take a satchel of letters to Darkwater Crossing for one of the miners. On her way there, an Imperial ambush had caught her off guard. Apparently the Stormcloaks were in the area and unfortunately for Ma'elsa, she was caught right in the middle of it. Before the ice-user could attempt to fight back, she was struck in the back of the head and knocked right out. Needless to say, This was not how Ma'elsa had pictured her day going.  
~~~  
"Hey! Hey wake up!" A voice called to her. Male from what she could tell. Nord. Groaning slightly, Ma'elsa slowly opened her eyes. The woman shut them with a groan though. From not too far came a small chuckle.

"I know it's bright, but you still need to wake up." The voice told her, laughing slightly at her pain.

Finally Ma'elsa's eyes opened. Her ice blue irises locked on to a blonde Nord male. He wore Stormcloak armor. Almost instantly, Ma'elsa's eyes narrowed to glare at the man. These Stormcloaks were the reason her older brother was dead.

"There you are! I was wondering when you were going to wake up!" The man said cheerfully, completely ignoring her death glare. "Now we just have to get the other one up."

"Lousy Stormcloaks." Growled another voice. Instantly Ma'elsa turned to look at him. This Nord was in prison garb. He had darker brown hair but he was undeniably a Nord. "Skyrim was better before you all came along. If you weren't here, I would have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell right now." The man grumbled out unhappily. Ma'elsa had half a mind to agree with his disdain. Suddenly his attention turned to the man who sat across from him. "What's up with him?"

"Watch your tongue!" The blonde male barked out. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak! True High King of Skyrim!" He sounded proud to be serving beneath a tyrant like the Jarl. Ma'elsa couldn't help but sneer at that. How dare anyone serve the usurper.

"Can you get any louder..." A feminine voice had sounded from next to the blonde woman. The voice sounded slurred and drowsy, as if she had just woken up.

Ma'elsa turned to look over at the female. She wore heavy steel armor but not like they typical armor that smithy's made. This was quite different. Instead of leather lining the armor, there was dark fur. It seemed black, like a wolf. Ma'elsa knew she had seen the style once yet she couldn't place it.

"Ah! She's awake! Welcome to the land of the living, kinsman." The blonde man said to her cheerfully. He was annoying. "Looks like you got caught in that ambush like us."

"Stormcloaks... Oh no... If we're here then..." The dark haired horse thief trailed off. 

"That's right... End of the line." The blonde Nord muttered out solemnly. Seriously, could he just shut up?

"Maybe for you." Finally Ma'elsa spoke with confidence.

"Wait. Stormcloaks?" The female asked, now sounding more awake. "Where are we? I need to get back to Whiterun! Farkas is probably worried sick about me!"

The four other members of the carriage looked toward the newly awakened girl. All of them were about to say something (with the exception of the gagged Jarl) but the Imperials cut them off from saying anything. They had called out to General Tullius. That had piqued Ma'elsa's interest. She quickly shifted her gaze to glance at the General. Everyone else in the cart had also done the same. A few snide remarks were made about the General and the Thalmor with him. Then the group realized that they were in Helgen.

"This is Helgen... I used to be sweet on a girl from Helgen..." The blonde man mumbled out. Didn't the Imperials just tell you to shut up?

"Why are we in Helgen?" The other female finally asked. "Last I remember, I was headed back to Whiterun with my Shield-Siblings after we cleared out a cave of bandits for the Jarl of Windhelm."

"You mean Jarl Ulfric?" The blonde man asked, gesturing to the man that was next to the girl.

The young woman looked over to the Jarl and then cocked her head to the side slightly. "Yup. That's the one! The Companions took care of those bandits for you." She told him happily. "Still not sure why I'm here though..."

This time the Horse-Thief spoke up, "You, me and that Cat wanna-be were caught up in some Imperial ambush for these Stormcloaks."

After that, the girl finally looked over at Ma'elsa. This gave the blonde better time to study her. From what she could see, the other female had gorgeous teal eyes. They reminded Ma'elsa of the Solitude Inlet where she used to practice before she had to move further inland. She also had beautiful strawberry-blonde hair that reminded her of a sunrise. Freckles covered almost every bit of skin that the blonde could see. The young female offered Ma'elsa a grin which the blonde woman found herself returning. Their silent staring was broken when the carriage went over a larger rock, knocking the group of five slightly off balance.

Ma'elsa recovered quickly and looked around Helgen. She remembered being in Helgen a few times as a child. Since she had been taken in at Solitude, she had forgotten what it was like. The town was rather small. Nothing like her home of Solitude. However it was bigger than Ivarstead. At least Helgen was probably more interesting than the tiny farming community.

Suddenly the carriages came to a halt and all of the prisoners were forced off them. One by one the Imperial soldiers called out the names of the Stormcloaks.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." Was the first name called. Ma'elsa couldn't help but smirk as the Jarl stalked forward and off to the chopping block. That man deserved it for murdering her older brother.

"Ralof of Riverwood." That turned out to be the annoying blonde man in her cart.

"Lokir of Rorikstead." That was the Horse-Thief. Almost instantly the man tried to flee for his life. He was quickly shot by Imperials. Only a fool would try to flee, and even the Stormcloaks knew it. There was no honor in fleeing like a coward.

Finally the two Imperial soldiers looked at her and the other woman standing next to her. The Nord fellow didn't seem to know who either of them were. The Captain didn't know either however General Tullius had spotted Ma'elsa and quickly intervened.

"Captain, let that one go." He said firmly, gesturing to the blonde.

"But sir!" The woman tried to protest.

"I said let her go!" The General insisted angrily. He had walked over to the group of them and pulled out a small dagger.

"As you wish, sir." With that, the General quickly cut her binds.

After rubbing her wrists, Ma'elsa looked back up at the General. "Many thanks, General Tullius. Ma'elsa is glad that you have recognized her." She told him. Even though Elisif and Torygg had knocked normal Nord speech into her, during her travels, Ma'elsa reverted back to Khajiit style of speaking. This protected her better when she was among strangers. 

"It's hard not to." The General replied to her. "Especially with your ridiculous hood. I had thought it was you, but you were rather far away and I wasn't sure..."

Ma'elsa grinned at the mention of her hood. Her current attire consisted of fur armor. While it wasn't as sturdy as some armors, it had been handcrafted by Ra'kiraya. The outfit held sentimental value to her. After being forced out of her old furs as a child, the elderly Khajiit had made her a new set of furs as she grew. This set was the last set made except instead of it being just fur, it also doubled as armor. The fur was made from a sabertoothed tiger. It was solid tan. Under the fur, a set of very sturdy leather armor protected her from most blows.The fur was sewn to the armor, making it just look like fur outfit. The outfit was very focused on protecting her torso and legs as both her breastplate and trousers were padded.Her trousers were mostly leather but on her thighs, she had extra padding and fur sewn onto it. On her arms she wore gauntlets covered in fur and leather. They came up to her elbow, leaving the upper part of her arms exposed.Over the armor she wore a hooded cloak. This was made from an entire pelt. The hood actually had the ears of the Sabertooth tiger still attached. Her boots were the only part not made of fur, they were simply leather. Overall, the ensemble made her feel much like the Khajiit that she had grown up pretending to be. The best part about the entire thing was that it was enchanted by mages from Winterhold.

"The armor was a gift from Ra'kiraya to cub." Ma'elsa explained with a grin on her face as she thought of her motherly figure. There were also her traveling clothes. When she was at High Hrothgar, she was usually in a set of mage's robes or the robes of the Greybeards. In Solitude, she wore her typical dresses that she was expected to wear.

"I hear you get a new set every year." The General said. He lead the other woman toward the chopping block where they would observe the execution.

"Yes." The blonde woman responded, drawing out the end of the word slightly. 

After their conversation, the Captain and other soldier started questioning the other woman. Part of Ma'elsa wanted to help, but she could only ask General Tullius for so much.

"Anna Iron-Fist. I'm a member of The Companions! Honest!" The girl said quickly to the Captain and the other soldier. "See! I have Wolf Armor just like the rest of them. I even have a Skyforge Steel Greatsword." She tried to look behind her to gesture to it, only to realize it was gone. "Where in the name of the Eight is my greatsword!" She hollered out in shock.

During the conversation, Ma'elsa glanced over to the General. He seemed to be listening interested. At the blonde's silent question, he subtly gestured over to a trunk that had been unloaded. Ma'elsa didn't even ask if she could retrieve the weapon, she just did. Since the man had told her where it was, she took it as permission. Flipping the lid open, Ma'elsa took the greatsword, along with an elegant Skyforge Steel blade. The first belonged to the Companion, the second was hers. Clearly the Imperials had taken it when she had been knocked out. The rest of the contents were just steel weapons and bows from the Stormcloaks. Ma'elsa didn't bother to even touch them. Instead she strapped the greatsword to her back and just held on to her blade. Afterwards, she padded back over to join the General.

"You should release her." Ma'elsa said quietly. Her plea fell on deaf ears. Tullius seemed concerned abut one thing. Delivering a long monologue about how he beat Ulfric Stormcloak.

As the duo walked, both of their eyes were on Ulfric Stormcloak. General Tullius said a few words to the Jarl. They were harsh and full of pointless Imperial jargon, but Ma'elsa stood by the General. She believed him a stubborn man as well as annoying. Unfortunately her sister trusted him so she must. While the General spoke, Ma'elsa stood behind him and glared. She would rather kill him now and have it done with. However the Imperials had their own way of going about executions and Ma'elsa had to respect it. Normally she was against killing, but if there was one person she would like to see dead, it was Ulfric Stormcloak.

After what seemed to be an eternity of the General droning on about useless things, the execution had started. Ma'elsa wasn't very fond of them, but her duty as High Princess of Skyrim and her pseudo-royal status made her stay and watch. At least this time, Ulfric Stormcloak would be the dead one. That thought made the idea of an execution more bearable. During General Tullius' monologue, a cry sounded. This caught everyone off guard but in the end it was dismissed as a wolf.

One of the Priestesses of Arkay had begun to give their last rights when a very rude Stormcloak had interrupted. The young blonde rolled her eyes at his rudeness but did nothing. Instead she just let him get his head cut clean off. Just after, angry cries from the Stormcloaks sounded as well as victorious ones from the Imperials. Those cries weren't what Ma'elsa had been paying attention to.

Another cry had broken out. This one was unlike any she had heard, save once. Her blue eyes turned to the sky. Wherever the sound was coming from, it had to be in the air. First her head turned to the Throat of the World. If anything, it would start there. However she did not spy what she had hoped to see. Then it happened again. This time, Ma'elsa was looking everywhere for the source of the noise.

"Paarthurnax?" She muttered to herself as she looked through the skies. After studying with the Greybeards for many years, they had trusted her enough to let her meet Paarthurnax during her last year. The elderly dragon had taught her The Way as much as the other masters. The two of them worked solely on Unrelenting Force, a Shout that was hard for Ma'elsa to master. Not long after learning Dah, she had learned of her brother's death and left Paarthurnax. She would never reveal his secret to anyone though.

"I said: next prisoner!" The sharp voice of the Captain cut across the blonde's mind and she brought her attention back to the events.

Walking up to the block was the beautiful girl with teal eyes, Anna Iron-Fist of The Companions. Clearly the General was not planning on releasing her. The young woman seemed very proud and not afraid to die. Either this girl was the bravest or the stupidest person that Ma'elsa ever had encountered. On her way up, the girl tripped slightly which brought a smirk to the blonde's face. The girl turned as red as her hair when she had tripped. It was quite cute in her mind. Ma'elsa felt it unfair that the female has to die and prayed to the divines to save her. A glare as sent to the General but he didn't notice it. 

Just as the Captain forced her down, something black caught the blonde woman's eye. Quickly Ma'elsa turned her head and saw something she never expected to see.

"DRAGON!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Soon all chaos broke loose.

With a mighty roar, the sky turned red and flaming rocks began to fall from the sky. The execution was completely forgotten while the rest of the people were more concerned with fighting the giant black monstrosity. This dragon was different than Paarthurnax but Ma'elsa had an idea who he was. If the past five years of reading Dragon-Lore and learning their language taught her anything, she certainly knew who was the first dragon ever created.

"Alduin..." Ma'elsa muttered, just standing out in the middle of the streets. Her blue eyes were wide with shock as the dragon shouted.

"YOL TOR SHUL!" The massive black beast roared out from his position up top the massive tower.

Quickly Ma'elsa fired back with a Shout of her own. "FO KRAH DIIN!" The blonde shouted angrily. The frost breath was aimed directly at Alduin, but he had moved before it could hit him. The blonde cursed her luck and ran for it. No doubt the black beast would be ready to kill her. She knew how to Shout. That would put her as a danger to any dragon with brains. Clearly she hadn't been thinking. Ma'elsa had read the stories and she knew the legends of Alduin. Shouting at the great beast would only make him think she was the Dragonborn, which she CLEARLY was not. Now she had to run away and fast.

As she ran to take cover, Ma'elsa saw her, Anna Iron-Fist. She was passed out near the chopping block. The Divines had answered her prayer to save the girl from execution, now Ma'elsa had to get her out of this in one piece. Quickly she raced over toward the chopping block and shook the woman.

"Get up!" She hissed out.

Groaning, the other female shook her head and started to get up. "What's happening!?" She asked shocked.

"Dragon attack. Come. You and Khajiit must flee." Ma'elsa growled out quickly to her.

While the woman looked slightly confused at her statement, she listened. As she stood up, the Stormcloak prisoners called over to them. They were hiding away in a tower. Right now it was the closest place to shelter, so both females ran for it. They entered the tower just as another set of flaming rocks came from the sky.

"Jarl Ulfric! Are the legends true?" The Ralof of Riverwood asked in shock. Outside, the entire village had gone up in flames. Cries of innocent civilians could be heard along with soldiers being burned to a crisp.

"Legends don't burn down villages." The Jarl croaked out. The whole lot of them looked like they had seen a ghost.

"Well we need to kill it! Let's go!" Anna shouted to the small group of Stormcloaks. 

"With what weapon would you kill it with, Companion?" The Jarl asked in a condescending tone.

After the man finished his statement, Ma'elsa unstrapped the Skyforge Steel greatsword from her back and thrust it into the Companion's arms. "No fighting." She said, sounding like a Khajiit. "The Dragon will prevail should fighting commence." After all, this was Alduin! Only the Dragonborn could win here.

"Well then. We need to move. Now!" The Jarl decided quickly. 

"Quick! Up the steps!" Soon Ralof, Anna and Ma'elsa took off up the steps with the Stormcloaks trailing behind her. Just as Anna was about to step out on to the platform that marked the second floor, Ma'elsa grabbed her and yanked the armor-clad female backwards. As she did that, the great black dragon burst through the stone and used his Fire Breath. The flames had been intense and caused Ma'elsa to shield her face and look away. She still had one hand firmly gripping the armor of the Companion though. Just as quickly as he came, he left. 

"You two keep going and get out of here! We'll follow!" Ralof called to the females.

Neither hesitated and they jumped through the gaping hole. The two had landed in what seemed to be a house. From there, Ma'elsa took the lead and dragged her companion with her.

"We need to make for Whiterun!" The redhead called out from behind her. "It's more protected than here, Falkreath or Riverwood! And it's the closest to us." That much was true. Whiterun had a massive wall and was well protected. The only other places that well protected were Solitude, Markarth, Windhelm and most likely High Hrothgar.

Once they reached the bottom of the house, Ma'elsa had turned to the other woman. "Can the Companion get us to Whiterun?" She asked the Companion.

"Aye. I can get you there." The girl told her blonde companion. The young woman's face was determined and she seemed ready to go. Her armored hands held the massive greatsword with ease and in all honesty, she looked as if she could kill. "I swear on the honor of The Companions, we will make it to Whiterun alive."

That was all Ma'elsa needed. "You lead, Khajiit will follow." 

With that, the two females raced out of the house. Anna with her greatsword at the ready and Ma'elsa with one Skyforge Steel sword and one Bound Sword. The Imperials were more concerned about getting the citizens of Helgen to safety, that they hardly noticed the two females race right out of the village. Many of the other soldiers and the Stormcloak prisoners had been headed toward the Keep. Ma'elsa had half a mind to head off to the Keep but the young Companion clearly had a better idea.

"The Keep..." Ma'elsa started off in protest.

"Will be full of Stormcloaks and Imperials trying to kill us! I'm not running away from one death just to lead us into another!" She yelled back as they ran through the gates. Since Ma'elsa was not very battle savvy, she listened to the Companion's words. No doubt the strawberry blonde had seen more fights. All Ma'elsa had done in fighting was against her family in training, the Masters of The Way and wolves on the side of the road. Compared to a Companion, Ma'elsa had nothing.

Behind the two females, the sound of an angry dragon could be heard attacking. Neither female looked back, in fear that the dragon had decided to follow them. Instead they pushed forward as fast as their legs could take them. Ma'elsa, despite wearing a very light armor, was struggling to keep up with the heavily armored Companion. Despite being so weighed down, the young woman could run. Now if that was just because there was a dragon chasing them, then that would be understandable. It also didn't help the blonde woman that she was running with swords. That was definitely slowing her down.

While running, Ma'elsa sheathed her weapons and just ran. If she needed anything, she would have to rely on her trusty Ice Spike spell. Her other ice had yet to be controlled and in a terrifying situation like this, Ma'elsa could easily lose control. The blonde woman mentally remembered that her next spells would be Ice Spike, but did not summon the spell with her hands. Without her weapons, she was able to catch up to the Companion. She other woman still had her greatsword out, but was still faster than her.

"Where's your weapons?" The other woman called out shocked that her partner had sheathed them. 

"They were slowing me down!" Ma'elsa called back. She now sounded more like the Nord that she was trained to be. 

"Wait! Why don't you sound like a Khajiit anymore?" She yelled back to the blonde. 

"No need to now! The Stormcloaks aren't around." Ma'elsa replied quickly. 

Anna looked as if she was going to respond to her, but the loud cry of the dragon cut her off. Almost instantly, they turned their heads back to see what was happening. The two were fortunate enough to be far enough from Helgen that they could not see the village or the dragon. However they also had no idea if the dragon was coming after them now. The loud roar was enough to keep them going. 

The two found themselves running faster than before. Ma'elsa was in a full out sprint after the last roar. Even Anna had sheathed her greatsword and she was running faster than before. At this point, adrenaline was coursing through their veins, keeping them from being tired. The two were far more concerned with their lives than they were about the pain of running and how their lungs were burning for more air. Both females were looking back periodically, checking to see if the dragon was following them. The angry roars had started to die down, but the two females were still far too terrified to stop running as fast as they could. 

Suddenly the angered cries returned. This time they were far louder than they had been. The two had turned their head's back to see what was the matter. But only for a brief moment. It was Anna who spotted something and acted first.

"Get down!" The Companion grabbed the blonde and jumped off the path with her. This ended with Ma'elsa smacked flat back on her back in the dirt. Anna was on her hands and knees above her, but she was looking up toward the sky. Ma'elsa followed Anna's gaze and looked up. When she did, that was when she saw it. The dragon was flying over them, roaring out to the sky. It didn't look down and attack them, it just flew of the the mountain and away from them.

Both women sighed in relief as the dragon disappeared over the mountain in front of them. Anna's head dropped and her strawberry blonde bangs brushed against Ma'elsa's fur covered chest. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be breathing heavily. Obviously all the running had finally caught up with her. 

Ma'elsa had closed her eyes as well and laid back to catch her breath. The blonde's hood fell off, revealing her beautiful blonde hair. Some strands looked white when the sun hit it, but it was truly blonde. Her bangs fell over her forehead and eyes, but the woman didn't mind. After a moment, Ma'elsa did her best to sit up on her elbows. When she did so, she felt some sort of pressure against her chest. Her ice blue eyes snapped open to see the Companion's head hitting it. Almost instantly Anna picked her head up and looked up to Ma'elsa.

"I- um... well... sorry! I didn't think that- I mean that... I just was trying to hide us from the dragon. The I was just so relieved that he didn't see us that I just forgot to move. I didn't mean to stay on top of you, not that I mind being on top. I mean, the view is really- wait that sounds bad. Not that you're bad or anything! You're gorgeous... wait what?" The Companion had picked herself up so that she was now just straddling Ma'elsa. Even though her head was no longer in the other female's chest, the scene itself still looked rather scandalous.

Ma'elsa was still laying back against her elbows, now looking up at the Companion. Her light blonde bangs had plastered themselves against her sweaty forehead and now it felt gross. Using her right arm to hold her up, Ma'elsa pushed her bangs back with the rest of her hair. The blonde had a red face, from the running and her hair was just messed up and flying everywhere. Well, the hair that was outside of her one massive braid was flying everywhere. Like most Nords, Ma'elsa braided her hair but it was very lazily done. She was not as skilled as Ra'kiraya when it came to hair. The old Khajiit was able to skillfully capture her hair in an elegant bun with ease. Even her bangs. Not even Ma'elsa could do that. She was lucky if her bangs stayed out of her face.

"It's fine. Really. You were just trying to protect us." Ma'elsa responded as kindly as she could. She definitely sounded more like a Nord now. 

"Yeah, exactly!" The woman replied, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. She had a cheerful and slightly awkward smile on her face.

Looking up at this woman, Ma'elsa was able to study her more. She, like Ma'elsa wore her hair in braids. But instead of one, she had two on either side of her head. She had bangs as well. The one thing that drew her attention was that the girl had a light blonde streak of hair. It was very similar to Ma'elsa's actual hair color. Anna's face was flushed but that was probably from the running.

"So... Whiterun?" Ma'elsa finally asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Oh! Right! I gotta tell Jarl Balgruuf!" She quickly stood up and offered an armored hand to Ma'elsa. The blonde woman gladly took the hand and the was hoisted up easily. This woman was clearly very strong.

"Thanks." Ma'elsa mumbled.

"It's not a problem. Oh, I guess I should introduce myself, I'm Anna Iron-Fist of the Companions. I'm the newest member of the Circle."

"Impressive!" Ma'elsa praised her. "I know being a member of the Circle means you must be quite skilled!"

"Well, I've been trained by the Companions since I was a kid. The Clan Gray-Mane took me in as a kid. Almost every member of their family is in the Companions so I was always around them." Anna explained as if it was completely natural.

"Well, Companion, it is a pleasure to meet you." Ma'elsa said to her. 

"Likewise. But call me Anna, please. Companion is so... Well I just like my name than being lumped in with the Companions. I love them, but I like to be me. Though I do have to ask what your name is." The Companion said with a grin. She dragged the other female back on the path and the two had started jogging along it.

"Well I have two." She said quickly. "Which do you want?"

"Both!" Anna replied happily.

"Well..." Ma'elsa started off. "Among the Khajiit, I'm Ma'elsa. Soon I will be Ja'Elsa or Jo'Elsa. That's up to Ra'kiraya." Changing her name to Ja'Elsa would mean that she was now a young adult who had finished her training. Jo'Elsa would mean she was a wizard or some sort of scholar. She was still Ma'elsa because she was in training... even though she was twenty-two. A Khajiit's name changing was a very big event in their life, usually done by a Tribe Leader. Since Ma'elsa wasn't associated with any particular tribe, the duty fell to Ra'kiraya. She was seen as the Tribe Leader of all Skyrim Khajiit, having been there the longest. "But in Solitude I'm known as Elsa."

As she said that, Anna had tripped and nearly fell over. "Wait! Like High Princess Elsa!? Sister to High King Torygg!? The same Elsa who everyone wants to be High Queen?" Her teal eyes were now completely focused on the blonde running next to her.

"Exactly... Wait! Who said anything about High Queen? Jarl Elisif will be making the claim for High Queen, not me!" The blonde replied quickly. In her seclusion up on the Throat of the World, she hardly heard news. To hear that others were calling for her to claim the position of High Queen... well that put her in even more of a dangerous place. 

"Um... I've heard rumors that the Imperials want you to take the crown. They believe you're better suited for it..." Anna replied to her awkwardly. "But we Companions don't pay much attention to the war. Whiterun is pretty divided about the whole thing and we're neutral." She said quickly, before her companion could react.

"I see..." 

"So what would you like me to call you?" Anna asked her.

That shocked the blonde. Someone asked her preference. That hardly happened. "You can call me whatever you like." 

"Then I'll just call you Elsa. Except around Stormcloaks! Then I'll call you Ma'elsa. Oh, and Khajiit, since they know you as Ma'elsa. I don't want to confuse them." Anna decided quickly. "Elsa is a pretty name and it fits you very well."

"Then Elsa it is, Anna." Elsa replied to her with a small grin. Her face was slightly flushed from the sprint earlier and the blonde was thankful for it. Receiving compliments often made her blush.  
Perhaps this wasn't the greatest start to her day, but it wasn't a terrible end of the day. She had met a new friend, fought a dragon and lived and now she was off to Whiterun. The bad part of the day is that Ulfric Stormcloak was still alive.

"By the Eight! Elisif is going to be livid!" Elsa groaned out as she thought about her chance to kill Ulfric.

"What's wrong? Oh! Look, there's the Guardian Stones!" Anna said excitedly as she pointed at three standing stones.

"Just something I should have done back there..." Elsa mumbled out unhappily. "What are the Guardian Stones?"

"What!" Anna was stunned. "You don't know about the Guardian Stones! Well come on!" Anna gripped Elsa's hand and sprinted up to the three stones. Elsa was about to protest until Anna came to a halt in front of the stones. "These are the Guardian Stones. They're part of the thirteen or so Standing Stones all over Skyrim! Here is the Thief Stone, the Mage Stone and the Warrior Stone."

Elsa knew of the Standing Stones, but she didn't realize these were three of them. Curiously she walked up to the Mage Stone and pressed her palm against it. Just as she did so, a bright blue light shot up into the air. The shock caused Elsa to step back. She did notice that she felt oddly stronger. Perhaps not physically but there was something about her magic. Perhaps it was easier to use now.

"Mage huh. You don't see many Nord mages." Anna commented. "Not that it's bad or anything! I never could work magic or do anything with magic. You must be really skilled. I mean I saw you do the spell with the sword and that was really awesome and I um... I'm rambling. I'll just shut up now." 

Elsa laughed slightly and looked over at the other female. "Come on, let's get to Whiterun." She finally said.

"Right! Riverwood is just up here! So we can maybe stop there to get some drink and something to eat. Then we can be off to Whiterun." Anna said quickly as she started to jog off. Elsa quickly raced to catch her. Soon the two females fell into a comfortable jogging pace. It wasn't too fast for Elsa nor was it too slow for Anna.

The two made it to Riverwood not long after their stop at the Guardian Stones. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the village, so clearly the dragon hadn't attacked there. However there was a rather elderly woman yelling that she had seen one. Most of the village thought her crazy but Elsa and Anna knew how right the woman was. Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, they made their way to the Sleeping Giant Inn. Neither female really wanted to stay in the inn very long. After all, they didn't want attention drawn to themselves. Inside they ordered a small meal of chicken and bread and ate very quickly. Elsa ordered a bottle of Black-Briar Mead and shared it with Anna.

"Wow. This stuff is way better than Honningbrew or any other mead ever!" Anna exclaimed once she finished her sip of the mead.

"Lady Maven makes the best." Elsa replied after finishing her slice of bread. She had quickly moved on to her chicken while Anna had drank more mead.

"We definitely need this at Jorrvaskr." The ginger said after drinking almost half the bottle. At that point, Elsa stole back the mead so she could wash down her chicken. Anna tried to take it back but Elsa put the bottle to her lips and drained every last drop of it. "Meanie."

"I bought it. You done?" Anna nodded and the two quickly vacated the inn. Neither noticed the blonde innkeeper watching them silently as they left.


	3. The City of White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elsa goes to Whiterun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter Three! Glad to see you still reading! This is the longest chapter I've written out of the nine I have so far. Everything else is a lot nicer after this (length wise) I promise! Glad to see you still here! Happy reading!!
> 
> If you need translations, all of my dragon language comes from Thuum.org they have great translations!

The two females stepped out of the Inn after their meal and almost instantly, Anna started running back the way they had come.

“I thought Whiterun was that way?” Elsa asked, following the other female. She pointed up toward the north road along with asking her question.

“It is, but I wanted to stop by this shop here.” Anna replied pointing up at a sign. It read “Riverwood Trader” in peeling letters. “I wanted to grab some potions because I’m always tripping and hurting myself. They took all the ones I had back at Helgen.”

After hearing that, Elsa felt bad. She had only managed to save the other female’s sword. She didn’t even think of looking for other potions or anything. With the dragon attack, she was more concerned about making it out alive than she was about getting potions and other supplies.

“Ah… I guess that makes sense.” Elsa decided as Anna pushed the door open. The two females stepped inside and Elsa spoke again. “Perhaps I should purchase some Magicka potions. I may need them.” Just as she had finished that statement, the two people in the shop had started arguing.

The two people were Imperials. They looked to be siblings from what Elsa could tell. One was a male and he stood behind a counter. The other was a female who was quite beautiful. From what the argument sounded like, the shop had some sort of a break in. What was stolen, Elsa couldn’t tell. Nor could Anna. The two of them just watched the two people bicker back and forth. Finally the male behind the counter had noticed the two females.

“Oh, customers.” He said quickly. It shut the female up rather fast. She stomped off rather quickly to sit at a table near the roaring fire. “Sorry you had to hear that.”

“What happened?” Anna asked curiously.

“Well… We had a bit of a break in.” The man started off awkwardly. “The thieves were only after one thing, though…”

“Well what was it?” Anna asked, now even more curious. Being a Companion, she often went off to help win back stolen items and return them to their owners. It was the honor of the Companions that made her do it. That, and she just genuinely liked to help people. The gold they gave her in thanks was also nice too.

“A claw. A dragon claw to be exact. It was solid gold.” The shop owner said. “Tell you what, if you can get my claw back I’ll give you some coin from my last shipment.”

“Sounds good! Where is it?” Anna replied in a chipper voice.

There was a small awkward silence. Elsa looked at the shopkeeper, the woman in the shop and back to Anna. It looked like the two strangers didn’t want to reveal the place. Finally the man spoke. “Bleak Falls Barrow.” He said rather quietly.

“...Oh.” Anna replied quickly. The silence continued for a moment. Elsa had no idea what Bleak Falls Barrow was. The three others in the shop knew though. “Well we have to run to Whiterun first, but afterward we’ll go get your claw!”

“Oh you will! Thank you!” The man said to her happily. Clearly they had solved some sort of massive problem. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Well we actually need to buy some potions if you have any.” Anna said, now gesturing to the hooded woman next to her.

“Well please browse my fine selection!” He said happily.

Both Elsa and Anna quickly walked around the shop, looking for anything they could possibly need. Anna had picked up a few health potions. A few meaning almost ten. While Elsa had no idea why someone would need ten health potions, she didn’t question her. She also didn’t question why the other female bought quite a few loaves of bread. They had already eaten after all. 

Elsa simply picked up three magicka potions. She had started looking at the spells but the shopkeeper hardly had any. The one the man did have, were ones that she knew of novice ones that she didn’t care to know. If Elsa really wanted spells, she would probably have to go find a court mage or go all the way to Winterhold. Since Winterhold didn’t really want her in the area given her out of control abilities, Elsa decided that a court mage would be the place to go. Thankfully they would be off to Whiterun after this. There was definitely a mage there. Elsa doubted that the mage in Whiterun could match up to Sybille Stentor bushe could be proven wrong.

“Do you have everything you need?” Anna asked her, with her arms full of healing potions and food.

“Aye.” Elsa responded, placing her three potions on the counter. The Imperial man added up the total number of septims needed for their purchase and Elsa handed the money over without hesitation. It was more pricy than she had anticipated, but the woman could manage it. She had even paid for Anna’s potions and food. 

“I could have paid.” The redhead said with a large pout on her face. They were now walking down the north road which would take them up to Whiterun. Her arms were full of the loaves of bread and she was casually munching on one.

“Call it a thank you for getting us out of Helgen alive.” Elsa commented. She plucked a loaf of bread out of Anna’s hand and broke off a small piece.

“And yet you’re eating my bread.” The other female replied in a somewhat snarky tone. Anna had a small smirk on her face, showing she was just kidding.

“High Princess tax.” Elsa joked out before popping the piece in her mouth. The blonde had no idea how long she had been knocked out, but after all the exercise she had just done, she was hungry. The small meal that they had in Riverwood was not enough to sustain her stomach. “Besides, you drank some of my mead.”

“Savior tax.” Anna fired back. This time she was far more playful sounding. The two females laughed after the statements and continued to munch on the bread. A howling sound jarred the two from their laughter. Wolves.

Almost instantly, Anna’s greatsword was in her hands and Elsa had her Ice Spikes charging. Snarls came from their side where three dark wolves stood. They looked as if they were about to attack. Just as Elsa was about to release and Ice Spike, a snarl ripped through Anna’s throat. It didn’t sound completely human, that was for sure. But it successfully stopped the wolves from attacking. Instead they stopped growling and stared at the two females.

Anna was glaring at the wolves, daring them to attack the two. The wolves stared back. It seemed as if they were debating if they were going to run toward them, or if they would let the two females past. Anna was standing between Elsa and the wolves and her teeth were bared to them. After a moment, the wolves backed down. They actually took a few paces backwards and sat down. Anna took this as a sign that she had won and replaced her greatsword.

“C’mon, we gotta get moving.” Anna told Elsa with a grin on her face. Afterward, the female started off down the path at a light jog.

Elsa looked from the wolves, who hadn’t attacked her, then back to the jogging form of Anna. Her eyes were wide and her jaw had dropped. She had seen her fair share of strange things including Paarthurnax himself. A human making wolves back down was something she had not seen yet. Blue eyes turned back to the still sitting wolves and she finally disabled her spells. Keeping a watchful eye on the wolves, Elsa quickly sprinted to catch up to Anna.

“Took you long enough!” Anna laughed as Elsa nearly sprinted past the armor clad female.

Elsa quickly slowed down to a jog and kept pace with Anna the best she could. “I was just a bit shocked.” The blonde responded truthfully.

“You escaped from a massive black dragon today and you are shocked about someone making wolves back down without killing them?” The other female was now poking fun at her.

“Yes, actually,” Elsa responded instantly, I’ve seen a dragon before. Not that. The dragon secret was something she would keep to the day of her death, though.

“You’re a strange one.” Anna finally decided with a hint of teasing still in her tone.

“Says she who tames wolves. Your name should be Anna Wolf-Tamer, not Anna Iron-Fist” Elsa replied, now resuming the joking match that they had started before the wolves.

As the two threw their taunts and jabs back and forth, the found themselves nearing Whiterun. It had been months since Elsa remembered seeing the great city. Possibly since her last trip up to Solitude. It’s massive white walls stood tall over the plains that surrounded the city. Outside the walls many farms could be seen close by. 

“Imperial soldiers…” Anna muttered out. That caught Elsa’s attention.

Turning her gaze from the massive walls, Elsa focused on the small squad of soldiers in front of them. The group of men saw them and instantly pulled their blades out. Between the group was a Nord in rags. Presumably a Stormcloak.

“Stand aside, citizen!” One said loudly.

“You’re messing with Imperial business!” Another said equally as loud.

“Excuse me! Do you know who you are mmph-” Anna started off in an angry tone. Elsa had quickly covered her mouth with her right hand. She didn’t need the woman to give away who she was just yet.

“Forgive Khajiit and her feisty friend. They are simply traveling to Whiterun. They do not mean to interrupt.” Elsa said in her Khajiit accent. Her voice was not as raspy as the catfolk. Instead it was low and smooth.

“Well be on your way.” The soldier told them.

“Of course.” Elsa responded, drawing out the last word slightly. “Are the Imperials headed to Solitude?”

“That is confidential information!” One growled out. His blade was at the ready. All three soldiers were twitching nervously at the woman before them, ready to kill her if needed.

“Even to Ma’elsa?” Elsa asked with a smirk adorning her red lips. All three soldier’s eyes widened. The recognised her Khajiit name. Almost instantly they had begun stammering out their apologies but Elsa had none of them. She held up her left hand as to silence them and they quickly fell quiet.

“Imperials are going to Solitude, yes?” Elsa asked again, in a calm voice. The soldiers are nodded vigorously. “Excellent. Soldiers will inform those who need to know that the cub is fine.” The three nodded and stammered out that they would follow her orders. Once the conversation was over, the three men ran as fast as they could down the trail, dragging the Stormcloak prisoner with them.

As the men ran, Elsa brought her left hand to her lips to stifle a laugh. She finally uncovered Anna’s mouth and the Companion punched her in the arm, hard.

Elsa had not been prepared to take the punch and she wobbled on her feet for a few steps. Finally she did managed to catch her balance. Her right arm was now sore and she was rubbing it with her left hand.

“What was that for!?” Elsa barked out while rubbing her injured arm.

“That,” Anna started with a smirk on her face, “is why they call me Iron-Fist.”

Normally Elsa would have been irritated for someone hitting her on purpose, but the way Anna had responded was just so funny that she couldn’t stay mad. It was honestly the best response, considering their previous conversation. Cracking a grin, Elsa gave in and let the redhead have the win, for now. Unknown to Elsa, this would just be the first of many.

“Let’s get to Whiterun, I can see it now.” Elsa managed out with her grin. She was still rubbing her arm to get rid of the pain. It was helping, slightly. Perhaps Iron-Fist truly fit the Companion.

“Sounds good! We best tell Jarl Balgruuf first. Then I need to let the Companions know I’m alive.” Anna agreed, starting to jog again. “I’m sure they are worried sick over me. I bet Njada and Athis are making a bet are taking bets to see if I’m alive or not. No doubt Skjor and Vilkas are in on the betting. I wouldn’t put it past Aela either.”

Elsa simply nodded to the woman. She had no idea what Anna was talking about in all reality. All she knew was that Anna was talking. A lot. But that was something Elsa didn’t mind either. She sort of enjoyed her voice. Of course after a week of hearing nothing but Stormcloak supporters, Anna’s voice was a welcome change. She didn’t mention the war, Ulfric, Imperials or anything. It was nice.

The two turned left once they hit a crossroads. Normally Elsa would have kept going straight until she hit Rorikstead. This time the jogged down the path that was in front of the Honningbrew Meadery. Elsa could smell the lovely honey scent that was in the air. While Honningbrew wasn’t as good as Black-Briar, mead smelled good all the time. After all, every Nord liked mead, even Elsa.

“Woah! Look a fight! Let’s go, Elsa!” Anna yelled excitedly, taking out her greatsword. Elsa was pulled from her thoughts as Anna raced passed her, looking eager to hit something.

Elsa quickly followed, readying her ice. Anna was up farther ahead, racing up to what seemed to be a giant. Upon further investigation it actually WAS a giant. Quickly Elsa charged up her Ice Spikes and launched them toward the giant. Closer to the giant, Anna was hacking away. Beside her, a large Nord man with steel armor and and an Imperial female were attacking it. From farther off, a redhaired Nord woman was shooting at the giant with a bow. Elsa sent two more large ice spikes before the mighty giant fell.

Once the giant was down, the large Nord rushed over to Anna and scooped her up in a large bear hug. “ANNA!” He called out cheerfully. “Ria! Aela! Anna’s alive!” Laughter could be heard from Anna and victorious cheers from the two other females. The two raced over to the Companion and leaped on her. The group hugged each other for quite a while. So long that Elsa had managed to walk up to the group and stand next to them awkwardly. It was Anna who had broken the group apart.

“Hey! Let me go! I’m alive! Don’t get too emotional on me!” The young female said with a grin.

“Please, Shield-Sister. I don’t do emotions.” The auburn haired female responded with a smirk on her face. “I just joined in because everyone else did.”

“Right, Aela. Of course you did.” Anna responded sarcastically. They two grinned before the woman known as Aela ruffled Anna’s hair.

“Come on, Feisty Pants, lets get you back to Jorrvaskr. You can regale us all with your stories of what ever happened over the last few days.” The beefy Nord male said with a grin.

“I’d love to guys, but I’m on a mission with my friend here.” Anna stepped away from the group of warriors to stand next to Elsa. 

The ice mage looked at Anna curiously when she had called her a friend. The two had known each other for all of one day and yet this woman considered her a friend. Perhaps escaping from a village that a dragon was pillaging was one of those friendship gaining moments of something of the sort. Elsa couldn’t remember really ever having a friend in all honesty. She had a pack, a family, a sister and a brother, a caretaker, a teacher and masters but never a friend.

“Friend eh? Well what’s your name, friend of Anna?” The big beefy Nord asked her with his arms crossed, clearly not impressed.

Elsa’s blue eyes turned to glare at him. She was very tempted to be sassy with him, but seeing as the man was just looking out for Anna, she decided to play nicely. “Ma’elsa.” Elsa finally decided. It was safer this way. Anna’s teal eyes looked at her questioningly, but the redhead didn’t argue with her introduction.

“Sounds like a Khajiit name.”

“That’s because it is, ice brain.” The archer female replied with a roll of her eyes. “Were you raised in Skyrim or Elsweyr?”

“Cub’s Pack was from Elsweyr. Cub is from Skyrim and has lived in this land all her life.” Elsa responded, not wanting to give too much of her past away.

“She’s lived in Solitude for most of her life.” Anna added quickly.

“Anna!” Elsa shouted at her. The woman threw her hand above her head and glared down at Anna. The Companion took a step backwards and covered her face with her gauntlets.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! Don’t hit me with your Ice Spike!” 

Roars of laughter echoed from the three warriors. “I like this one, full of spirit. And she’s not afraid to put Anna in her place. I knew I’d like her.” The archer said with a grin.

“I have no issues to begin with.” The other female added casually. She was an Imperial.

“I see the sword. I guess she’s not all bad.” The male decided. “But what is your mission?”

Both Anna and Elsa looked at each other at that statement. Neither honestly knew what to say. They could be honest and say that a massive black dragon attacked Helgen and they needed to warn the Jarl. Or they could say it was confidential. Both were rather unbelievable.

“Well…” Anna started off. The whole group prepared themselves for the inevitable long story. Even Elsa, who just me the Companion, knew this would be a long story. “I was in Helgen, right? And I was captured by Imperials and then they were going to kill me but then this big scary massive black dragon came and attacked. At some point I think I was knocked out because when I woke up, Ma’elsa was standing over me and we went to hide in this watchtower. Ulfric Stormcloak was there and some other Stormcloaks who were about to be killed. Well we ran up the watchtower but the dragon broke a hole in it. So Ma’elsa and I jumped out the hole.”

The three warriors looked at Anna in shock. They were not believing what they were hearing. First off, how did Anna get from Eastmarch all the way to Helgen? Second, she was captured by Imperials who were going to kill her. That was unbelieveable as Anna was an honorable Companion. Lastly, dragons were dead… or so they thought.

“The we ran out of the house, and out of Helgen. I think Ma’elsa and I sprinted from Helgen all the way to the Guardian Stones as fast as we could. Then we stopped in Riverwood to eat and I picked up some potions because the Imperials took mine. Oh! We promised a shopkeeper that we would go to Bleak Falls Barrow to get a Golden Claw or something from him. I forgot about that.” Off to the side, Elsa put her hand up against her face and shook her head.

“Then we left Riverwood and ran all the way here. Then we fought a giant and won. That’s when we me you all and then I started telling this story about how we escaped from a dragon and now we need to go tell the Jarl about it.” Anna said, finishing the story cheerfully. Elsa was thankful that she didn’t mention the Imperial soldier, as that would raise some questions.

“Well that’s quite a story, Shield-Sister. The Jarl seems to have gotten news about the dragon attack as the gates are closed to outsiders.” The archer said in a calmer voice. She seemed to be the leader of the group right now. “So your friend may have issues getting in. But you will have no trouble since you are a Companion.”

“You two may as well come back with us. Maybe the guards will let, um, Ma’elsa in with us…” The Imperial suggested quietly.

“Ria makes a good point. It couldn’t hurt to try.” The burly man said back.

“Sounds good! You don’t mind right?” Anna had turned to Elsa to ask if she minded. The blond woman shook her head. It could be much worse. They could be with Stormcloaks.

The group of five quickly started their journey up to the great city. For Elsa, she very rarely traveled up this path. The last time she had been up near Whiterun, she had been but a girl. While the city was not Solitude, it was still incredibly impressive. The blonde woman found herself staring in awe as they group walked up.

While Elsa was marveling at Anna’s home, the four Companions seemed to bet talking about Anna’s adventure. The three others were eagerly listening to the redhead as she told the story in greater detail. Anna was describing the Dragon in as great detail as she could. She had said that the dragon was as big as Jorrvaskr. Of course the other three hardly believed her, but they were still incredibly impressed. The fact that the two females had made it out of Helgen alive and nearly unscathed was impressive.

The group walked passed the stables and were heading up the path to the city when Elsa broke free of the group. She sprinted up the hill as fast as her legs could carry her. Anna was stunned but by the time she had recovered enough to call out, the blonde female had stopped. Elsa was up by where the Khajiit Caravans made camp. That was when the redhead remembered that she was known as Ma’elsa by Khajiit. So she probably knew these caravan traders.

Up at the camp, Elsa was greeted by the small group of catfolk with hugs and grins. “Ri’saad! Atahbah! Ma’randru-jo! Khalya!”

Chuckles came from Ri’saad, who was standing now. The elderly cat moved to hug the the young female, who accepted. “Ma’elsa, fortune smiles upon this meeting.” The old male said with a grin adorning his lips.

“It pleases me to see such familiar faces in such an unfamiliar place.” Elsa responded in her Khajiit accent. “I shall inform Ra'kiraya of your well-being.”

“Ah, Ra'kiraya, it had been many a moon since we have been graced with her presence. She resides in the Nord city Solitude, no?” Ri’saad asked curiously. Three other members of his group looked at the Nord woman curiously.

“Yes, she assists at the Nord Temple when not in the court of Jarl Elisif the Fair.” Elsa responded with a small grin on her face. “I believe, should you visit the city, Ra'kiraya would be more than pleased to welcome you inside it’s walls.” That news seemed to shock the four Khajiit. “Ma’dran has seen the wonders that the city has to offer.”

“My ears hear what you say yet my mind cannot even begin to believe it.” The voice of Atahbah broke though. “We have heard of Khajiit seeing the great city of Solitude. Such rumors have yet to be confirmed.”

“Many Nords do not look favorably on our race.” Elsa replied to them. “Ra'kiraya is trusted by all. All Khajiit with her are not to be questioned or bothered.” Such news was received well by the small group. It pleased Elsa to see that she could make them happy with her news.

“We shall send word to her and beg for her kindness.” Ri’saad promised Elsa.

“It pleases me to hear this. Do send my greetings along with your kind words. It had been many moons since I have last spoken with my mother.” Elsa responded.

“It would please Ri’saad to do so.” The older Khajiit replied with a grin. “Khajiit believe that the young cub must be leaving now.” He pointed back to the four Companions who were standing behind them on the roads. Three of them looked rather confused as what was happening. Anna seemed to understand slightly, but even see seemed slightly confused.

“Yes.” Elsa agreed quietly. “May your road lead you to warm sands.” She told the group, who echoed her farewell. With one last look at the kindly catfolk of Elsweyr, Elsa jogged off to join the group.

“Many apologies for making Companions wait.” Elsa told the group in her Khajiit accent.

“No trouble at all. We were enjoying catching up with our Shield-Sister.” The archer replied kindly. She didn’t seem too prejudice against the woman raised by Khajiit. “But let us continue. You have news on Helgen that I’m sure the Jarl will need to know.”

The group started walking up the path again. They were nearing the gate when Anna spoke. “Oh, Ma’elsa! Do you mind making a stop at Jorrvaskr? I just want to let everyone to know I’m alive and all.” Elsa shook her head and simply shrugged, signifying that she really didn’t care. After all, coming to Whiterun was all Anna’s idea. Elsa was planning on going to Solitude to see her family and tell them of dragons. Then it was back to High Hrothgar.

At the gate, the guards seemed wary of letting Elsa in. It was the companions who vouched for the blonde woman. None of the guards liked it, but they ended up letting her in anyway. As the group walked into the city, Anna was smirking. The warrior leaned over to Elsa and put her lips to her ears.

“Imagine what their faces would be if they knew they were talking to the High Princess of Skyrim.” Anna whispered to her companion.

Elsa almost instantly flushed. She could feel Anna’s lips against her ear and it definitely caught her off guard. The young woman always had sensitive ears. She wasn’t sure why that happened but it did. Khajiit were known for their ear sensitivities so it was often joked that she was really part Khajiit. Part of Elsa wanted to push Anna away, but the other part was seriously enjoying the feeling.

“I um… It w-would be funny.” Elsa stammered out in a low voice.

Anna smirked and quickly pulled away from Elsa. It was just in time because both females nearly ran into a man dressed in Imperial Armor. It was Elsa who gracefully sidestepped away. Anna had nearly crashed into the man.

“Whoops! My bad! Sorry! Oh! Hello Adrianne!” Anna said quickly, trying to avoid knocking into the two.

“Hello Companion!” The female greeted them. She was an Imperial and donned Blacksmithing robes.

“Good to see you made it back. Whiterun was worried when you didn’t come back with Farkas a few days ago.” The man said, breaking his conversation off with the female he was speaking to earlier. Presumably Adrianne.

“Well you know, clumsy old me got lost.” Anna joked out, scratching the back of her head. “But I’m home and safe! Thanks for worrying about me, Idolaf! I feel so loved.”

“Har har har. Get moving you, the city is worried. Let everyone know you’re alive.” The blonde male said with a grin on his face.

“Oh fine, I see when I’m not wanted.” Anna said with mock hurt. The two others rolled their eyes to the young Companion and waved as she dragged Elsa away.

“That is Adrianne Avenicci. She’s the daughter of Jarl Balgruuf’s steward. The man is Idolaf Battle-Born. The Battle-Born’s are Imperial supporters.” Anna explained as they walked up the path. Right now we’re in the Plains District of Whiterun. That’s where all the shops are.” As Anna spoke, they entered a large open courtyard. There were multiple stands set up selling fresh meat, fruit, vegetables and even jewels. Anna pointed out two shops. One was an apothecary and the other was a general good store. Much like the Riverwood Trader. 

“Belethor is a bit of a creep and a sleazeball but he has the goods.” Anna said in a low tone. She had a silly grin on her face though. “And over there is the Bannered Mare. It’s the local tavern for anyone who isn’t a Companion. Sometimes we head down here to talk with the other people of Whiterun.” 

Grabbing her hand, Anna led the two up the steps. Once they got to the top, Elsa gasped. There was a massive tree growing in the middle of the city! She never saw anything like that in Solitude.

“That would be the Gildergreen. It used to look a lot nicer… Some say it’s dying.” Anna’s voice seemed to be very sad at that. “The Priestess, Danica is always so busy that she can’t tend to the tree. I’d help but I’m so busy with the Companions…” After that, Anna trailed off. Clearly she didn’t want to talk about the tree anymore.

“So… where is Jorrvaskr?” Elsa asked, trying to cheer up her friend.

Just the mention of the mead hall seemed to cheer the woman right up. “Right! Be prepared!” Without hesitating, Anna ran around the right side of the tree and right up a set of large steps. Elsa heard a man preaching something about Talos, however she couldn’t make it out. For a moment, she gaze shifted backwards to the man but she had to look forward again to make sure she didn’t trip up the stairs. 

Anna did actually trip up the steps in her excitement, but she recovered quickly and raced to the doors of the massive Mead Hall. In Elsa’s opinion, it looked as if a massive ship had been flipped upside down and that was what created it.

“Welcome, Elsa.” Anna started off in a dramatic tone. “To Jorrvaskr!” She finished with a grin. After finishing her statement, she threw the doors of the hall open to reveal the massive mead hall. Of course, right as she did that, a massive brawl broke out. 

“Oh not again…” Anna mumbled as she saw the fight. Elsa stepped forward so that she could get a better view of the fight sceen. The other members of the hall seemed to be encouraging the battle. Bets were being placed on the individuals. “Athis and Njada really have to stop this nonsense.”

“They do is all the time?” Elsa asked curiously.

“At least once a week. Come on. I better go find Kodlak. Gotta let him know I live.” Anna still was holding on to Elsa’s hand and the redhead dragged her away from the fight scene. The other members of the hall didn’t seem to notice the two people wander off and down a set of steps.

Anna pushed open a door once they were down the steps and stepped through. Now the two females were directly under the mead hall and it was much quieter. 

“This is the living quarters.” Anna explained. She pointed at a room that was directly in front of the door they just walked through. “This is where all the Whelps sleep.” Anna said. Upon seeing the look of confusion on Elsa’s face, the woman elaborated. “Whelps are new bloods. Those who are not members of the Circle. All Circle members have their own room.” She said. Pulling Elsa down the hall, she pointed out the other member’s of the Circle’s rooms.

“Where’s your room?” Elsa asked curiously.

“Uh… well. I don’t have one… Yet.” Anna explained awkwardly. “When I was caught by the Imperials, I just finished my initiation to the Circle. So I haven’t been back here since I was first made a member you see… But I’ll get a room soon.”

By this point, they had reached an open room. In the room, two males sat. The younger one looked very similar to the burly male that was fighting the giant with them. The older one had almost white hair. The two wore the exact same armor that Anna wore.

“Hey everyone! I’m back!” Anna called out cheerfully.

“Anna!” They both called out cheerfully. The younger man stood up and engulfed the female into a massive bear hug. From behind, Elsa clenched her fists. She was missing the warmth that Anna’s hand had provided hers.

“It’s good to see you weren’t killed.” The older man said. “I see you have finished your initiation into the circle.” At the mention of Anna’s initiation the three suddenly became aware of Elsa’s presence.

“I did.” Anna answered quickly. “And do I have a story for you two! Dragons have come back to Skyrim!”

“Dragons! You must have been dreaming, sister!” The young man said, mocking her slightly.

“I’m not kidding, Vilkas! A huge black dragon attacked Helgen! Kodlak, you have to believe me!” Anna said, waving her hands for dramatic effect.

“Calm down, Anna. Vilkas, stop antagonizing her.” The older man, Elsa assumed to be Kodlak, told the two. In response to that, Anna stuck her tongue out at Vilkas. That made Elsa grin a bit. It was completely immature but adorable. “That would definitely explain the higher security in the city. Have you spoke to the Jarl?”

“Not yet, Ma’elsa and I decided to stop here first to let you know I’m alive.” Now the older man’s attention turned to Elsa. It gave the blonde a chance to study him though.

“Kodlak Whitemane I assume?” Elsa asked, new reverting to her Nord mannerisms.

“You assume correctly.” The man said. He had long hair like any Nord did. He also had a matching white beard. “Might I ask your name?”

“They call me Elsa.” Elsa had heard stories of the Harbinger of the Companions. She knew of his skills and his honor. The man had been invited to the Court of her father and the court of her brother. Elsa had been present when the man came for a visit under her father’s reign.

“Of course! High Princess Elsa. My have you grown!” The Harbinger said jovially. “I see you are still as beautiful as ever. You can’t hide your beauty under that hood of yours.”

“Still as kind as I remember, Harbinger.” Elsa replied with a grin.

“High Princess Elsa? Better not let Vignar know about her. He’ll be livid. It’s best she leaves...” Vilkas spoke up from the side.

“She’s a guest with me! Why can’t I have her here. Old Vignar isn’t a member of the Circle!” Anna argued.

“Now Anna, the High Princess can stay. However it is best that we keep her identity safe from Vignar. I’m sure he wouldn’t betray a fellow Shield-Sibling but it’s best to keep precautions.” Kodlak said to the two.

“I often go by Ma’elsa, my Khajiit title.” Elsa suggested.

“That should work. But I shan’t keep you two here much longer. You’d best go see Jarl Balgruuf. But afterwards, please come to enjoy a large dinner and excellent mead. You will be the guest of honor in Jorrvaskr tonight.”

Elsa bowed to the Harbinger slightly. “It would be my honor, Harbinger.”  
\-----------------------------------------------  
Walking up to the Palace of the Jarl was intimidating. It stood at the top of a hill and overlooked all of Whiterun. Not even The Blue Palace was this intimidating. Well, it could have been but Elsa was far used to the sight of the massive palace that she called home that it didn’t even phase her anymore.

“They Jarl lives here?” Elsa asked in shock as she approached the large double doors that lead to the entrance.

“Yup. Welcome to Dragonsreach.” Anna explained, pushing the doors open.

The two stepped into a large entry hall. The ceilings were far higher than anything Elsa had ever seen. It was even taller than the Blue Palace! Roughly twenty feet into the massive hall, steps lead to a higher platform. Anna moved toward the steps first with Elsa following behind her.

“Do you want to go first?” Anna asked as she put one foot on the steps.

“Why would I go first?” Elsa asked curiously. 

“Because you’re a Princess.” Anna responded as if it was the most obvious answer. “It would be rude for me to stand in front of you, right?”

“You can stand in front. Act as my protector.” Elsa replied with a smirk. “You can be my housecarl.”

“I am the member of the Companions! I am not some lowly housecarl.” Anna retorted angrily. However she calmed when she saw the teasing grin on the blonde’s face. “Fine, I’ll act as your housecarl.”

Snickering from behind the redhead, Elsa followed her up the steps. While Anna stomped up them like any male or warrior would, Elsa followed much more gracefully. Due to her constant training with the current Jarl Elisif as a child, Elsa still maintained her grace and poise later in life. During her training with the Greybeards, they marveled at her grace. Even Paarthurnax had complimented her upon his initial meeting of the High Princess.

The two females reached the top of the steps and Anna started off toward the Throne of the Jarl. From behind her, Elsa took in everything she could about the Jarl’s court. On the floor, two massive tables could be seen on either side of the room, in the center was a roaring fire, which was customary for every household. A few Nords sat at the tables, eating whatever the cooks had served that day. The two females were eyes with distrust. Well, actually Elsa was eyed cautiously. Anna was a well known Companion. 

With her eared hood over her head, Elsa looked incredibly suspicious. The two of them looked so suspicious that neither could approach the throne before a female Dunmer had approached them with her blade out. Anna had quickly drawn her blade and Elsa’s hands were raised to ready and Ice Spike. She did not take too kindly to being threatened.

“Hail, Companion. Why do you bring a stranger to this hall?” The Dunmer asked, eyeing Elsa curiously.

Elsa, glared daggers to the Dunmer. Ra'kiraya had told young Elsa stories of how Khajiit used to be taken as slaves to Morrowind and serve Dunmer. To this day, many Khajiit still dislike the dark elves. So, naturally, Elsa was distrusting toward the Dunmer.

“Irileth, might I present the High Princess of Skyrim.” Anna said in an even tone. She was still not pleased at being seen as the housecarl to Elsa, but she at least attempted to sound polite and formal.

At the mention of High Princess, the entire court fell silent. Now all heads were turned to the woman wearing leather armor with Sabertooth Pelt covering it. The hood covered most of her face, but her well known icy eyes could be seen.

“Wait. Was I supposed to say that?” Anna asked, turning to face Elsa.

An unladylike snort escaped Elsa after Anna had spoke. “It’s fine, Anna. I’m sure everyone here will hold their tongue about my identity.” Of course that meant they would hold their tongue of she would personally make sure they did not speak in the future. Not that Elsa would actually do such a thing, but they way she sounded made it rather convincing. After disabling her spells, Elsa pulled off her hood, revealing her tangled mess of bangs and her lazy blonde braid. The woman used her right hand to push her bangs back out of her face while her left hand brought the lazy braid to rest over her left shoulder.

Elsa definitely did not look like a Princess. That was something everyone could agree to. Her hair was a mess. Elsa’s face was caked in dirt and sweat and she was pretty sure that she smelled like coal or like burned flesh. Not to mention, most Princesses aren’t found wearing armor to make them look like a Khajiit. Then again, Elsa wasn’t most Princesses. She was the Khajiit Princess.

“Jarl Balgruuf. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” Elsa said, stepping forward and ignoring the Dunmer female.

“Aye. It it definitely better circumstances than our last meeting.” The Jarl replied to her.

“Wait, you know each other?” Anna asked from behind Elsa.

“Of course, Jarl Balgruuf was one of the Jarls who attended the funeral of my brother. He was also at his coronation.” Elsa didn’t go on, but she didn’t need to. Everyone in that room knew that her next word would have been ‘when he was murdered.’ 

“And you father’s death.” Jarl Balgruuf replied. “Of course you were not present there, Lady Elsa.”

“No, sadly I was not. It was at my father’s insistence that I stayed at High Hrothgar.” Elsa responded coolly. “However I am here on more pressing matters that cannot be delayed.”

“I have already told General Tullius that I-” The Jarl started off angrily.

“This is not about General Tullius!” Elsa said back, raising her voice. It was laced with anger. “You will do best not to interrupt me, Jarl Balgruuf. Lest I do something I can’t control.” Her voice had come back down to a normal level but it was full of warning.

“Are you threatening me in my own court, Lady Elsa?” The Jarl spat out.

“No. I’m simply offering up a warning.” Elsa replied cooly. “Now if I can continue without being interrupted, that would be fabulous.”

“By all means, please do.” 

Icy blue eyes glared at the Jarl, but she continued. “A dragon has attacked Helgen early this morning. Both Shield-Maiden Anna and I were present during the attack.”

“Dragon?” Four voices echoed the word in shock, including the Jarl himself.

“What do you think if that, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls against a dragon?” The Jarl asked the man standing next to him.

“My Jarl, how can we even be sure she’s telling the truth?” The man asked.

“You dare question my word!” Elsa roared to the Imperial man. From behind her, Anna stood stunned with her jaw wide open. She wasn’t staring at Elsa or the Jarl, instead she was staring at the floor.

“Um, Lady Elsa?” Anna called out timidly.

“Not now.” Elsa hissed back, barely turning her head towards the Companion.

“Actually I think you may want to look down at the floor.” Anna replied back in a hushed tone.

Taking Anna’s advice, Elsa looked toward the ground and gasped. From her feet, ice was spreading across the stone floors. It was slow but noticeable. With a wave of her hand, the ice melted. Fo. Ice. Cold. Calm. Conceal. Elsa thought, calming herself down. Emotional outbursts were often the cause of her slipping ice magic. 

“Forgive me for my outburst.” Elsa finally managed out in an even tone. “You must be able to imagine the stress I’ve been under. After all, not many escape from a dragon and live to tell the tale.” It was a complete lie, but the excuse seemed to work with the Jarl’s court. She had been living with Paarthurnax for a year before this. Dragons didn’t really shock her. Just this one. This big, black dragon of death.

“It is completely understandable.” The Jarl replied, not wishing to offend the Princess more than he actually had that day. “After all, you saw the first dragon to come back in what was probably thousands of years!” 

Actually this is the second dragon I’ve seen. They didn’t all die. Elsa thought with a smirk, but she obviously didn’t say it out loud. “I am still surprised we made it out alive.” Elsa responded.

“Yes, well Riverwood is in the most immediate danger. Irileth-”

“I will send a detachment at once.” The Dunmer told him.

“Very good. Then on behalf of Whiterun, I thank you for this information.” The Jarl replied. “However, I must ask if there was something else you could do for me.”

“Asking for favors from a Princess?” Elsa mused with a smirk. “And a busy Companion, I hope it’s something extremely important.”

“Aye, it is. I believe my Court Mage will be able to give you more information.” Balgruuf replied.

Upon hearing the words ‘Court Mage,’ Elsa became interested. Now she was thankful for the favor being asked. Perhaps in repayment her could teach her spells. She needed more Ice Spells and Conjuration spells. The two females followed the Jarl to where the wizard, Farengar, was working.

“Farengar, I have two who may be able to assist you.” The Jarl said before leaving.

The mage looked up from his work to see Anna dressed in her Wolf Armor and Elsa in her fur and Leather armor. Unlike the rest of the court, he actually recognized the Princess.

“Lady Elsa, what an honor to have you assist me in my research.” The wizard said quickly.

“What are we doing and where are we expected to go?” Anna asked curiously.

The wizard turned to glare at her but Anna ignored it. Elsa simply smiled a little. Part of her was curious as to why Anna wanted to cut to the chase. A rumble in Elsa’s stomach gave her an idea. Ice blue eyes met teal and they both knew what the other wanted. Food.

“Well. I need you to retrieve a stone. Now when I say retrieve I mean delve into a deep and dangerous Nordic ruin to search for a stone that may or may not be there.” Farengar said to them awkwardly.

“Where?” Elsa asked. It wasn’t a question, it was a demand.

“Bleak Falls Barrow.”

“Oh, alright! We can do it! We were planning on heading up there tomorrow!” Anna said cheerfully. “We’ll take the job!”

“Excellent, I’ll be awaiting your return!” The wizard said, relieved.

The two waved and Anna grabbed Elsa’s hand again. The redhead rushed to the door of Dragonsreach so that they could get to Jorrvaskr. Elsa didn’t even fight Anna, she was just as hungry as Anna! When the other female grabbed her hand, Elsa couldn’t help but grin slightly and blush.

Anna forced the doors open and ran out of them. The two raced down the steps that lead down to the Wind District. Anna took the steps two at a time. Elsa was practically running down the steps in her attempt to keep up with Anna.

“You’re slow!” Anna yelled while she ran down the steps.

“You’re just inhumanly fast!” Elsa retorted. There was no response from Anna, just a smirk. When they reached the base of the steps, Anna scooped Elsa up bridal style. The blonde female held on to the redhead’s armor for dear life while Anna just laughed at her antics. “You’re also inhumanly strong! Now put me down!” Elsa shouted, her voice had a bit of panic laced in it.

“You’re slowing me down! And I want my food and I want it now!” Anna responded, carrying Elsa through the Wind District. 

Elsa’s face was a deep shade of red as Anna carried her. Elsa’s slender arms moved to wrap around Anna’s neck. Not to injure her, it was just in case Anna dropped her. The Companion was incredibly strong. She seemed to be carrying Elsa with relative ease. It was strange, for a woman that Elsa had just met that day, she felt relatively comfortable around her. Perhaps it was due to escaping from the dragon with her. The fact that the young warrior was also extremely attractive didn’t really hurt.

The Gildergreen could be seen right in front of them as Anna carried Elsa. Off to the side by a statue, a man was preaching about Talos. The statue behind him, was the God, Talos. Ever since the White-Gold Concordat, all people in Tamriel were forced to stop worshipping Talos. Many still did so in secret. Even Elsa’s father, Istlod, secretly worshipped Talos. Torygg did as well but he hid it from the world. Many Nords still worshipped him.

“Ignore him. He does that all the time.” Anna commented as she saw the blonde look over at the Talos preacher.

“It’s illegal. How had he not been arrested?” Elsa asked curiously. In all reality, she should be arresting the man for doing what he was doing.

“There are no Imperials in this city. Some supporters but no soldiers. The Jarl won’t allow it. So with no one enforcing the Talos law, no one arrests him…” Anna explained, now walking up the steps to Jorrvaskr. “Though sometimes I wish he was arrested. Just listening to him preach about Talos gets annoying…”

“Do you worship Talos?” Elsa asked curiously.

Anna looked like an elk caught in dragon fire when Elsa had asked her question. “I… um well… I- it’s against the law and all.” The Companion stuttered out. “Oh look, we’re here! Let’s go eat!” Anna put Elsa down on her feet. The blonde didn’t loosen her grip on Anna though. When the Companion tried to rush into Jorrvaskr, Elsa pulled her back. The poor woman nearly slipped and fell, but she regained her footing. 

“Answer the question… Honestly.” Elsa said in a low voice. This was one of the few times that the two had been standing still and next to each other. It was at this time that Elsa noticed that Anna was actually slightly shorter than her. No doubt Anna’s armor was adding some height to her.

“Well- I… um… yes.” Anna finally responded. Her teal eyes did not meet Elsa’s icy blue gaze. Instead they studied the stony ground. So they didn’t see Elsa’s lips curve upward into a small grin.

The Princess moved and pressed her lips against Anna’s ear, much like the female had done not but a few hours ago. “Between you and me, I do too.” Elsa let her lips linger on the shell of Anna’s ear for just a moment longer before she pulled away. She was then greeted with the sight of a flushed Companion who was struggling to form words.

“Shall we eat?” Elsa asked while Anna was trying to stutter out some sort of reply.

“Ye-yeah.” Anna replied, stuttering slightly. Payback was sweet.  
\----------------------------------------------  
Dinner with the Companions did not disappoint. Before entering Jorrvaskr, Elsa made sure to put her hood back up to better protect her identity. By the time they had arrived, most of the Companions had already taken their seats at the large ‘U’ shaped table. There were two spots open next to the Harbinger. They were both next to each other, which put Elsa at ease.

“Ah! Ma’elsa! Welcome! I had hoped you and Anna would join us for dinner!” Kodlak boomed, welcoming the two to the hall.

Anna lead Elsa down the steps of the hall and offered her the seat next to Kodlak. The blonde gladly accepted it and saw down. Anna then took the seat next to Elsa and the dinner officially started.

Both Anna and Elsa found themselves famished. While the other Companions were talking and making merry, Anna and Elsa found themselves stuffing their faces. Anna looked like a typical warrior, leaning over plate and stuffing every piece of food that she could in her mouth. She wasn’t even using her utensils, she was using her hands. Elsa on the other hand ate quickly but with with grace. Each bite was not too large. The woman even wiped her lips off with a napkin. The warriors who surrounded her laughed at the way she ate.

“Oi Harbinger, why bring such a milk drinker into our halls?” An elderly man asked. He was bald with one blind eye it seemed. 

“I wash yershelf if I wash ‘oo!” Anna said with her mouth stuffed full of food.

“She help us take down a giant today, Skjor.” The burly man from earlier said.

“You’re kidding, Farkas. That small thing couldn’t even take on a wolf if she tried.” The older man’s good eye locked on with Anna and the female archer who sat next to her. Anna gulped and quickly looked down at her food. The female archer from earlier, Aela, smirked and took a swig of mead. The archer had three thick diagonal lines painted down her face. Many Nords wore warpaint, she was one of them. Elsa noticed that many of the Companions actually wore war paint.

“So that one is Skjor. He fought in the Great War about twenty years back.” Anna muttered to Elsa. “Everyone is convinced that he and Aela have a thing going on.” A smack sounded next to Anna. Upon further investigation, Aela had hit the young woman. Lightly, but she still hit her.

“Then over there is Farkas and Vilkas, they’re twins. A bit older than me too. We were the three kids that trained around Jorrvaskr.” Anna explained in a low tone. Elsa had remembered that Vilkas had the same armor as Anna had. Farkas had taken down the giant.

“Next are Athis, that dark elf over there, and Tovar.” Anna pointed at the two with her glass of mead. After taking a swig, she continued. “Tovar is a bit of a drunk but a cheery guy. He get’s jealous easily though. Athis is always getting into fights with Njada, she’s over there.” Anna used her mug of mead to point out a woman in a helmet. “Its best to keep those two separated because they always start fights. She’s pretty rude too.” Elsa snickered at that and she also took some mead. The blonde noted that it wasn’t as good as her preferred Black-Briar mead, but mead was mead. “Next we have Ria, who you met this morning. She’s the newest whelp.” Ria was the only Imperial among the Nords and Athis.

“Then we have Vignar…” Anna said in a tone that Elsa couldn’t identify. “He’s a massive Stormcloak supporter, which is why you’re Ma’elsa. Brill is next to him and he follows Vignar around all the time. Steer clear from him.” Elsa nodded, she didn’t want to be near him anyway.

The group of warrior finished their meal after an hour. Back in Solitude, this is where everyone else would be going to sleep. Obviously that was not how Jorrvaskr worked. After their meal, everyone then got drunk and started singing.

“Alright, guest of Anna, sing us a tune!” Vilkas called out from his seat. “You can sing right!” A roar of laughter erupted from the group.

“She’s from Solitude! Growing up around them bards she better know how!” Vignar called out from his seat. “Go on girl, sing!”

Elsa turned to Anna as to ask what she should sing. Anna simply shrugged. “Something fitting?” She ended up replying. This just made Elsa roll her eyes. But she did have an idea. Her blue eyes caught sight of a lute and she grinned. Rising from her seat, Elsa gracefully made her way to get the lute. The young woman’s fingers experimentally plucked at the strings before she grinned. The instrument was in tune enough for Elsa. Then the woman moved do that she stood in front of all the companions. With the dragons returning, it made sense that she only sing something in the Dragon language. This was a song that Paarthurnax had taught her during their training.

Elsa started gently plucking at the strings of the lute. Her fingers ran over the instrument as if she had been trained in playing it. The woman’s voice started off low and slow, as was the song. “Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, wah dien vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal.” The Companions all raised an eyebrow as they listened to the female. None expected her to be able to sing in Dragon language. “Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal.” The song was rather slow. However Elsa still sung it proudly.

Anna sat there, wide eyed and with her jaw completely opened. Elsa had her eyes mostly closed at this point. The parts of her eyes that were open were focused completely on the instrument in her hands. “Huzrah nu, Kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod, aahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein.” Elsa’s voice dropped slightly to almost non existence. The rest of the Companions struggled to hear her over the roar of the fire.“Wo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul, voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein.” The song was still quieter here, but now they could hear Elsa. “Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod, rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein.” The blonde’s voice slowly started to crescendo and gain back it’s strength. “Sharot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pa, ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein.” There was a small few second interlude here before the woman continued on. 

“Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundien.” Elsa’s voice was louder here, but she refrained from looking at anyone. Anna thought it was because she was shy. “Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, voth aan boahlok wah diivon fin lein.” A second lute interlude followed here. There was a longer break in her singing here. There lute playing added some interesting flourishes that Anna thought might have been mistakes. She wasn’t sure though.

“Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod finvul dovah nok, fen kos nahlot mafaeraak ahrk ruz.” Elsa held the last note in that phrase before quickly moving into the next part of the phrase. The young woman may have taken a quick breath but no one was sure. “Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot, Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz.” At this point, Elsa took the longest lute interlude that she had through the whole song. Her fingers ran over the lute quickly making interesting sounding melodies. Elsa looked very focused on the lute itself. Her fingers were precise and her face was one of pure concentration.

When Elsa resumed her singing, this time her voice was much louder and far more fanfare-like. “Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal.” Not only was she louder, she was also more confident. The companions all watched eagerly. Theirs cups of mead were raised high and even though they could not sing along, they swayed with the music. “Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal.” Elsa held the last note for quite a bit. It was a high note but Elsa’s voice made it sound lovely. Her Vibrato added a dash of elegance to complete the song. Finally she cut herself off and looked to the companions with a small blush on her face.

Roars of applause filled the hall. Not only did she get applause but cheers from the hall. Farkas actually stood up and slapped Elsa on the back as a well done. Anna grinned and ran up to her, offering her a cup of mead.

“That was amazing! I didn’t know you knew dragon language.” Anna yelled over the familiar tune of Ragnar the Red that Tovar had started.

“It was a part of training.” Elsa yelled back. She had placed the lute down carefully and sat down next to Anna. 

“What else did you learn!?” The redhead asked eagerly.

“Maybe I’ll show you later! Let’s enjoy the night!” Anna didn’t argue with that. After taking a swig of mead, the two females joined in singing Ragnar the Red. Anna belted it out at the top of her lungs. Elsa couldn’t help but giggle at the young redhead’s energy. It was contagious because soon Elsa found herself belting out the song.

The rest of the night was a large hilarious blur. At some point The Age of Aggression and the Age of Oppression were both sung at once. Half of the hall had taken the Age of Oppression, including Vignar Grey-Mane. Both Elsa and Anna had taken the Age of Aggression. The hilarious part of the song was when it came to the slight differences. During the splits, Elsa and Anna’s voices belted out their part of the song. Together they were able to drown out the other side of the song. No one minded though. The two girls sounded better than the tone deaf males.

Athis and Ria both sang songs from their own countries. The particular song that Ria had sung was a familiar one to Elsa. The Fall of Dagon - a song which referred to the Oblivion Crisis. However Athis’ song was something that Elsa has never heard. It was about how the Dark Elves fled from Morrowind. Supposedly the song was one that was made up while traveling from the country.

“With three beers down, the Orc did frown, and bid the Elf goodbye!” Cries rang out in the hall. “For none could know, T’was not for show, and someone had to diiiie!”

“Alright! We have time for one more before we must all go to bed. Does anyone have any requests?” Kodlak called out to the mass of drunken Companions.

“Ragnar the Red!” Tovar shouted.

“We’ve sung that three times! No! Let the guest pick our last song!” Called Aela who was sitting on the steps. She wasn’t drunk, but she seemed nearly there. Next to her was Skjor who was keeping the woman sitting up.

They had sung Ragnar the Red a lot. Each time the group had added something different. During their last rendition, Tovar had acted as Ragnar and Aela had acted as the Shield-Maiden Matilda. They had even shouted “Shield-Maiden Aela” instead of Matilda.

“Get the lute and sing!” Ria called cheerfully. She was very giggly and sitting on Athis’ lap.

“THE LUTE!” The twins, Farkas and Vilkas echoed out with glee. The two of them were completely drunk at this point. 

Others voiced their agreement and Elsa was forced up to the stand again. This time the young blonde wandered back up in front of them. This time she was far more confident and giddy. The source of this was most likely due to the amount of mead she had ingested. Picking up the lute, Elsa started playing a familiar tune that everyone knew. “Our hero, our hero claims a warrior's heart!” Cheers erupted as the familiar song began to play. With tankards of mead raised to the sky, everyone began to belt out the song. 

Once Elsa finished, everyone downed their mead and staggered down the steps to go to their beds. Anna grabbed hold of Elsa’s hand and lead her down the hall. Elsa had no idea where she was going, but apparently it was to bed. The redhead turned down a hall and kicked open a door. Inside was a room with a chest and a bed and a few other necessities.

“Farkas said this is my new room.” Anna said as Elsa stepped in. She closed the door behind the blonde and smiled. “So you’ll be staying in here with me and then we leave for Bleak Falls Barrow tomorrow.”

Elsa nodded. The blonde pulled off her hooded cloak and let her hair out of the braid. She really needed to run a brush through her hair. She also needed to bathe, but that could wait an extra day she supposed. Slowly, Elsa began to unbuckle the clasps on her armor. Her top portion had many clasps up the sides that Elsa had begun to undo deftly. Just as she was about to pull off her top, Anna’s voice called to her. 

“Can you help me?” She asked in a small voice.

Turning, Elsa saw Anna standing with her armor completely undone, but it looked as if she needed help pulling it off. Elsa giggled slightly put she helped Anna ease herself out of it. The armor was heavier than Elsa expected and she nearly dropped it. Thankfully Anna helped her with it. Quickly Anna took over and she hung the armor on a wooden rack that was in the corner. 

Once Anna was armorless the redhead was left standing in a light green tunic and dark grey trousers. Even though the tunic hung loosely on the woman, Elsa had spied muscles from where it had ridden up in the process of removing the armor. Anna’s arm muscles were incredibly noticeable and honestly very impressive. All of the training she had done with the Companions clearly had benefited her. Elsa couldn’t help just just stare at the woman for a moment.

“Are you going to take your armor off?” Anna asked her curiously.

“What? Oh! Yes!” Elsa replied quickly with a slightly red face. Since her armor was simply leather and fur, it was much easier to take off and move in.

Elsa removed her top and gingerly placed it on top of the chest in Anna’s room. Her boots quickly followed and then her armored trouser. Afterward, the young blonde was left standing in a thin blue tunic and skin tight black trousers. Unlike Anna’s loose clothing, Elsa’s left very little room for imagination. Now the two just needed to figure out their sleeping arrangements.

“So- I um… You can have the bed and I can sleep on the floor.” Anna said quickly. Now her face was as red as her hair. “Not- not because I don’t want to sleep with you because I would love to. Not sleep with like sleep WITH you and all. I mean I would like to sleep. Just sleep. In bed. You could be in the bed or not, it’s just sleep. Yeah. Sleep...”

“Anna. It’s fine. We can share. It’s a double bed.” Elsa replied. 

Both females had slightly red faces but agreed that they really did just want to sleep. So Elsa took one side and Anna took the other side. Blowing out the candles that illuminated the room, the females both fell quiet. The sound of soft snores started to echo through the room and Elsa knew that Anna had fallen asleep. Slowly her big blue eyes fell closed. “For the darkness has passed and the legend yet grows… You'll know, you'll know the Dragonborn's come.” Elsa murmured out before sleep finally overtook her.


	4. The Golden Claw

Warmth. That was what she felt. Absolute warmth. Elsa couldn't honestly remember the last time she had felt so warm and content. She was always so cold. Many would remark on how cold her skin felt and she would always brush it off as cold from the air. Now she just felt comfortable and warm. She was snuggled up against something that was warm and smelled like honey- no, mead. This thing was also very soft and felt like a pillow. With a small grin on her face, Elsa buried her face into the warmth slightly. One arm was curled up close to her body while the other one slung over the warm pillow and cuddled it.

What Elsa didn't realize was that her pillow was actually Anna. She also didn't realize that Anna was wide awake and watching the blonde sleep with a grin on her face. The young Companion had a very restless sleep. Something just kept her from sleeping. Deep inside her, Anna knew why, but she wouldn't tell the sleeping woman. She also wouldn't wake her. It was apparent that Elsa needed sleep. So the young redhead let her sleep. Anna brought one of her muscular arms down to pull Elsa closer to the heat she was giving off. Elsa was cool to the touch, which was very nice because Anna was always hot. 

A soft knock soon tore Anna's gaze away from the sleeping Elsa. "Who is it?" She asked quietly.

"Aela." The voice called. "May I come in?"

"Yup! Come in!" Anna replied back happily.

The door slowly creaked open and the Nord woman walked in. She didn't have her green warpaint on, which was odd. She wore the rest of her leather and iron armor though. Upon walking in she wrinkled her nose in disgust and stuck her tongue out. 

"By the Eight! You two stink!" Aela said. The woman brought her hand to cover her nose. "I'm getting Tilma to get you a bath! Both of you!"

"Fine fine!" Anna replied laughing slightly. Of course she knew that both Elsa and she smelled like mead, sweat, and grime. Anna was quite ready to get clean though. She hadn't bathed in what was probably days.

"I'll get you when Tilma finishes getting it ready. By the Eight, I may help her." Aela grumbled before making her way to the door.

"You may want to fix your face." Anna piped up as Aela left. The woman waved her hand at Anna and closed the door behind her. That just made the redhead snicker slightly before looking down at the blonde beauty in her arms. Anna had only known her for one day but she was gorgeous.

Anna didn’t know how long she had been staring at Elsa. It had to be quite a while because soon enough, Aela was back with a scrub brush. This time the Nord wore her green facepaint. The gauntlets on her armor were off though. In Anna’s mind, Aela with a scrub brush was actually rather intimidating. Her face said that the meant business.

“Up and at'em, pup. Wake the kitten up too. You both are getting seriously cleaned.” The Nord woman declared. Needless to say, both Elsa and Anna had an interesting morning.

Once the two women were thoroughly cleaned (to Tilma, the maid for the Companions, standards) they were allowed to get dressed. Anna and Elsa had been taken separately to be bathed and clothed, so neither saw each other until it was time for them to eat breakfast. 

Up in the Mead Hall, most of the Companions were wide awake and eating breakfast when Anna had joined them. She had noticed that Elsa was not among the group yet, that meant that Tilma was still taking care of Elsa. To Anna, it was strange to have Aela scrub the dirt from her. The woman didn’t trust Anna to clean herself though. For good reason though. So after the awkward bath, she was finally allowed to get dressed. Anna had raced back to her room after that and put on her armor as fast as humanly possibly. Taking a seat next to Aela, the two redheads ate their breakfast. Every so often, Anna would turn her head back to see if Elsa was coming up the steps. She wanted to see what the High Princess looked all cleaned up. After looking up four times without spotting the blonde, Aela hit her.

“You look like a love-sick pup. Eat your food. She’ll be up when she’s up.” The archer growled out. “So how was your first night?”

“I feel like I didn’t get any sleep. I’m pretty sure I’ve been up for hours.” Anna grumbled out as she munched on some sausage.

“Aye. The only downside in my opinion. But you’ll get used to it.” Aela replied.

“Whatever,” Anna grumbled out. Her attention turned back to her food. Moments later, Aela elbowed her.

“Princess alert.” The archer snickered out.

Almost instantly, Anna’s teal eyes looked up to see Elsa walking up the last few steps. The woman looked utterly gorgeous. With her face clear of dirt and grime, Anna could see that she was incredibly pale. While Elsa had her hood pulled up, there was a tiny clump of hair that fell directly down the center of her face. It stopped just above her eyebrow. In the lighting, Elsa’s hair looked almost white, it was beautiful. If Anna hadn’t seen it yesterday, she would have sworn it was actually white. The companion could see more of her blonde locks poking out from under her hood. It seemed as if she had it braided. Anna guessed that old Tilma had done it for her.

The Princess had strutted over to the two Nord females and Anna couldn’t help but stare in shock. Clearly after her bath, Elsa was far more confident. She radiated sex appeal and by the Gods, Anna loved every second of it. Even with her pretty bulky fur and leather armor, she looked fabulous. 

“Morning!” Anna said cheerfully. “Take a seat, enjoy some breakfast before we head out.”

“Ma’elsa thanks you for your generosity.” Elsa replied in her Khajiit voice, as Anna had started calling it. At first Anna was confused, but she remembered that all the Companions, except Kodlak and Vilkas, knew of her as Ma’elsa the Khajiit Nord thing.

The woman took her place next to Anna and instantly bit into a piece of sausage. Most of what Elsa had eaten was actually meat. Since cats were carnivores, that probably meant that the catfolk of Elsweyr also ate a lot of meat. In the end, Elsa did eat an apple and she drank an awful lot of water. Even though she ate a lot of food, she made sure to sit up straight, not put too much food in her mouth, chew with her mouth closed and all those other Princessy things that made her stick out like a sore thumb in Jorrvaskr. Once Elsa placed her fork down on the table, Anna spoke.

“You ready?” The bubbly companion asked her. Elsa nodded to the Companion and Anna dragged her out of her chair and quite literally, right out of the doors of Jorrvaskr.

Elsa finally regained her balance as they charged down the steps out front of the mead hall. They raced right toward the Gildergreen. To her right, Elsa noted the man was out preaching about Nord God, Talos. Of course, ever since the Great War, it was illegal to worship Talos, but clearly that didn’t stop anyone. Behind the man stood a statue of Talos. 

Just before smacking into the large dying tree, Anna veered left sharply and turned to race down another set of steps that put the two girls in the Plains District. Elsa could see that the market place below was busy as the Market in Solitude would get. Vendors selling food and other needs, people buying food for their supper, it was just as everything should be on a nice morning.

Anna waved to all the people in the marketplace. Many of the people there waved back to the energetic Companion. “Happy Tirdas!” Anna called to them while rushing out of the marketplace.

It was Tirdas? That was news to Elsa. The incident outside of Darkwater Crossing had been on a Loredas. That meant that she hadn’t sent message back to her family in three days. Elisif would be worried sick if Elsa didn’t send a Courier out to her sister. Unfortunately that would have to wait until after Bleak Falls Barrow. 

“Come on, Ma'elsa, you’re slow!” Anna called out cheerfully. “I’m practically dragging you!”

“Feisty one could always carry Khajiit if she is too impatient!” Elsa joked back in her Khajiit tone.

“Don’t tempt me, you know I will!” Anna replied with a laugh. “Oh, look, the gates!”

Somehow Anna had let the two female all the way to the gates of Whiterun and Elsa didn’t even notice. She had been too absorbed in her thoughts about her worried sister to notice. The woman wasn’t even her actual sister, she married into the family. Of course Elsa was adopted but most people tended to overlook that. She easily acted the part of royalty so no one bothered to question her.

Anna pushed the massive gate doors of Whiterun open and the two females walked out of the city. They ran over the drawbridge and down the path outside of the city. Elsa looked over to the camping grounds that the Khajiit had been at the day before, unfortunately they had left. It saddened the woman, but Anna kept dragging her along the path so Elsa had to force it out of her mind.

The two females stopped at the Whiterun stables. They were located just past the Khajiit campgrounds. It was simply a wooden house with a few stalls for horses. Anna seemed to know the owner of the stables because she walked right up to a horse and started petting it and cooing at it. The sight was kind of adorable but it didn’t hold Elsa’s attention for long. Instead an elegant white and grey spotted colored horse with a white tail and mane caught Elsa’s eyes.

“Marsh?” Elsa called to it quietly.

The horse’s ears pricked and it turned it’s attention to the blonde Nord. Upon seeing Elsa, the horse walked up to her and gleefully pressed it’s muzzle into her chest. Giggling, Elsa wrapped her arms around it’s muzzle and placed her forehead against it’s head.

“Marsh! You found me! You’re such a smart boy!” Elsa said to the massive horse as if he was a puppy.

“Woah! You have a horse?” Anna asked Elsa as she lead a chestnut mare out of it’s stall.

“Aye, this is Marsh. His name is Marshmallow, but my … friend, Kristoff called him Marsh. Kristoff used to be a Stable boy in Solitude before going to the Bard’s College. He took care of Marsh for me.” Elsa explained. She stopped hugging Marsh and was now petting him happily.

“Well that’s gonna make our trip faster! Get him all ready to go and we can be off!” Anna exclaimed.

Thankfully for Elsa, Marsh was still mostly ready to go. The Stable Master had taken care of the young stallion for Elsa, which she thanked him and gave him some gold in thanks. Soon enough, Elsa had the stallion ready to go. With practiced ease, she swung up onto the saddle and met Anna on the cobblestone path. Marsh was larger than the mare that Anna had.

“So Elsa and Marsh, meet Joan.” Anna said, leading the two back down the road that they had come down the previous day.

“Joan, that’s an interesting name for a horse.” Elsa told Anna as the duo passed the farm where the massive giant had been attacking the day before. Elsa noted that the body had been moved and the farmers were back out in the fields, tending to their crops. They waved to the two females, who both waved pack happily.

“So is Marshmallow, but you don’t see me laughing at you.” Anna replied with a silly grin. “Did you name him Marshmallow or did you friend Kristopher?” 

“Kristoff.” Elsa quickly corrected. The blonde bard always hated when someone got his name wrong. Now it have become a habit to correct his name before he got angry. Even when the bard wasn’t present, Elsa still habitually corrected the name. “But the name was mine. Kristoff just calls him Marsh. The name has stuck, obviously.” The horse snorted in agreement. Elsa smiled and patted his neck a few times before continuing. “He’s been my faithful companion since he was a foal.”

“That’s so cute.” Anna gushed out. For a warrior, Anna still definitely acted like a typical girl. It was so adorable.

As the horses continued down the path, the smell of honey and mead filled the air. It was coming from the Honningbrew Meadery. The sound of birds chirping could be heard as well as the sound of running water. To the girl’s left, water rushed by them, moving to join the larger body of water ahead that was known as the White River.

Reaching the crossroads, the girls took a right and followed the path. This path was the exact same one that they took to get from Riverwood to Whiterun. The horses started up the small incline at a nice easy pace. As they continued up the stony path, a roar of a waterfall could be heard. It was actually peaceful. This time there were no wolves, which Elsa was secretly thankful for. They turned and continued heading up, this time they could see the waterfall over stoned that were along the side of their path.

During this time touring the area, Elsa was actually able to relax and take in the landscape. The area they were getting into was mostly forest. They had left the plains of Whiterun Hold behind now. These forests were more like those of Falkreath Hold to the south of Riverwood. Helgen was located in the forested hold of Falkreath.

“You know, this isn’t a bad ride.” Anna finally said, looking over the White River as the water rushed over the waterfall. “When you’re not running for your life, Skyrim is actually really beautiful.”

Elsa couldn’t help but laugh at that statement. What the Companion said was true though. Skyrim was a beautiful land. From the snowy peak of the Throat of the World, to the vast open plains of Whiterun Hold. Even the marshy lands of Hjaalmarch to the north west had their own sort of beauty.

“Yes, Skyrim is beautiful. The lights in the north are beautiful at night.” Elsa said as she remembered the beautiful colors that lit up the night sky. “But even these forests are beautiful in their own way.” The mage said as she gestured to the trees surrounding them. “I prefer snowy mountains though.” Elsa finally said.

“Ah! A true Nord you are!” Anna called out with a jolly laugh.

Elsa couldn’t help but laugh along with her. Nords were well known for not only being great warriors but also for being hardy folk who could stand the cold. Many people who came to the province would always remark on how cold the winds were. The Khajiit often complained of the cold air and how it chilled them to the bones. Elsa, being a Nord, didn’t know much of what they meant. The cold never really bothered her. That didn’t mean she would stop wearing her furs.

“I suppose you’re right. I’m sure that if I was taken to Elsweyr, I would have died.” The blonde Nord laughed out.

“Well I’m glad you didn’t go to Elsweyr. Who would I have escaped Helgen with.” Anna replied.

“Probably some of those barbaric Stormcloaks.” Elsa replied. Her tone was bitter as she spoke. There was obviously no hiding how much she hated the Stormcloaks.

“Probably.” Anna echoed. 

The two had casually made their way back to the stone bridge that would take them to Riverwood. The wooden houses and buildings could be seen easily across the river. The mill, which was what Riverwood was known for, was running like normal. The two could also notice the extra guards that were patrolling through the town. It seemed as if the Jarl had sent out those soldiers last night while the two females slept.

“So where is Bleak Falls Barrow?” Elsa asked as her gaze lingered upon the town of Riverwood.

“This way, follow me.” Anna replied. She and Joan started moving up a path that lead into the mountains. 

Elsa had no idea it was there in all honesty. Perhaps she wasn’t paying much attention when they had left the day before. It seemed slightly hidden to her. Not long after starting on the path, the stones that their horses were walking on had soon disappeared and the path just became dirt. The trees that had dotted the land soon became sparse and the air began to turn cold. As Elsa and Anna rose higher on to the mountain, Elsa noticed snow up ahead. She felt far more comfortable in the snow. Marsh did as well. 

While the horses in Skyrim were large and thick, some of them were better at maneuvering in the snow than others. Marsh was one of those horses. Having been Elsa’s only way of transportation for many years, he saw many snowy terrains for her training. It didn’t take long for Marsh to pass Joan and Anna over the rocky terrain. Having spiked horse shoes probably helped them though.

“Watch yourself up there, there’s an old watch tower where Bandit’s like to hide out!” Anna called from further back.

Elsa’s blue eyes narrowed, searching for this tower. She pulled the reins back on Marsh slightly, just to get him to slow down. If there were bandits, she was not getting caught off guard. The woman drew her skyforge steel sword and kept close to her steed. Passing below a rocky outcropping, Elsa finally spotted the watchtower that Anna spoke of. True to her word, there were bandits watching the place. No doubt to try and rob them out of everything possible. Normally Elsa would try and sneak away from bandits. She was not one for fighting unless she had too.

“What do you think Marsh, should we freeze them?” Elsa asked her horse quietly as if he could understand her. The horse snorted back and Elsa took it as a yes. Smirking she removed her fingers from the reins and prepared her magic.

“Yeaaaaaaaaaaah!” Came a cry from behind Elsa. The noise shocked her so much that she almost fell of Marsh. Even Marsh was spooked and he sped forward. Elsa barely had time to grab hold to the reins before the horse took off. After galloping a few paces, Elsa did fall from her perch face first into a massive pile of snow.

When she looked up, she could see a tiny redhead and a chestnut mare taking on two bandits. Elsa quickly scrambled to her feet and searched for her sword. It had fallen out of her hands as she fell. after a few moments of kicking up snow, her boots hit the steel blade. Quickly Elsa took it in her left hand and stood up.

One of the bandits had been taken down and Anna was working on taking down the second. What the Companion didn’t see was the bandit coming up behind her. The burly man raised his greatsword above his head, ready to strike Anna.

“No!” Elsa shouted, sending an Ice Spike right toward the man’s head. With a sickening crack, the ice broke bone and skin, and going completely through the skull.

After taking care sending her blade through the other bandit’s neck, Anna turned to see the man that tried to kill her. Blood trickled down the dead man’s temples. The light ice had started to be stained red as the blood flowed. Her teal eyes turned toward Elsa in shock.

Elsa stood with her right hand extended. Her feet were shoulder width apart in an offensive swordplay stance but her sword was hanging down by her side. It was Elsa’s right arm with was acting as her ‘sword arm’ in this instance. Instead of having a sword, light blue energy crackled all around her hand. The woman eyes were wide and her jaw was clenched in anger. It wasn’t until Marsh had walked up behind her and nudged the mage, did Elsa snap out of it. Shaking her head, Elsa lowered her hand and disabled her Ice Spike spell. Quickly Elsa sheathed her blade and trudged through the snow to Anna.

“You alright?” Elsa asked in a quiet voice.

“I should be asking you that.” Anna replied softly.

“I’m fine…” Elsa lied out. Her icy gaze was locked onto the form of the man she had killed. She knew that he was a bandit but she didn’t want to kill him. Elsa was just trying to keep Anna from getting hurt.

“Thanks for saving me. You’d make a decent Shield-Sister.” Anna told her. The woman placed her hand on Elsa’s shoulder to try and comfort her. “Killing people isn’t easy. I’m pretty sure you haven’t killed a lot of people before.”

“No.” Elsa responded, she hadn’t killed anyone before. She had seen people killed plenty of times, but never had she actually killed a person. Maybe some wolves and a troll but animals were all she ever killed.

“I’m not going to tell you it gets easier. But you get used to it.” Anna finally said after a moment. “If it helps, I always think that they’re bad people and they want to kill me. Kill or get killed. It’s still not good, but it helps a little.” 

“Maybe.” Elsa finally said, she looked away from the corpse and quickly turned back to go get on Marsh. “Come on, we have a Barrow to get to.”

Anna nodded and quickly raced off to her mare. Jumping up on the horse, she lead Elsa and Marsh though the snowy trails. Walking away from the watchtower, they disappeared behind a large outcropping and there it was… Bleak Falls Barrow.

Elsa had seen massive structures before. Heck, Solitude was a massively beautiful stone structure! High Hrothgar was another massive and beautiful structure, but this… this was like a massive temple! There was no other way to describe it other than a massive temple. It had large triangular structures sticking straight out of the stony platforms. They had a columns in the center to hold the point up, but it looked spectacular. They had three massive stone platforms, at the lowest platform there were lookout points for an archer or a mage to stand and take on an attacker. These points looked over the mountain and down toward Riverwood. One of the triangular structures was on this platform. Continuing up to the middle platform, a triangular structure sat directly in the center of it. That was all Elsa could see. Finally on the upper most point, another of these structures could be seen at the beginning. In short, Elsa was amazed. She loves architecture so right now she was incredibly excited.

Anna dismounted from Joan and Elsa quickly got down from Marsh. “Its best if these guys head down to Riverwood and wait for us. We don’t know if we’ll end up out here of not. For all we know, we could end up on the other side of the mountain.” Anna told Elsa as if this was a common thing for her to experienced.

Sadly, Elsa nodded. She didn’t want to send Marsh away after he had found her. But it made sense and she didn’t want the horse to come looking for her anyway. “You heard her Marshmallow. You and Joan head off. I’ll come get you this time.” Elsa promised the massive white and grey spotted horse. Marsh nodded and pressed his massive snout into his faithful companion’s chest. Elsa hugged him tenderly and then she let the two horses continue back down the mountain to Riverwood. Elsa watched the two horses leave before she turned her attention back to Anna.

“Alright, there are probably bandits up there too. Be on your guard. Remember, kill them before they kill you.” Anna told Elsa seriously.

Elsa nodded curtly. She didn’t want to kill anyone again but it seemed as if she would have no choice. This time Elsa didn’t go for her blade, her Ice Spike spell was active and Elsa was ready to go. Anna took out her sword and gripped it tightly in both of her hands. Nodding to Elsa, the two charged up the snowy plains and right for the massive set of steps.

Just like Anna had predicted, there were bandits there. There was an Orc male with a warhammer headed down the steps for them first. Knowing that hammer would hurt, Elsa sent and Ice Spike at him. It hit the Orc in the leg and he stumbled down the steps. As the Orc stumbled, Anna sent her blade shooting through the Orc’s chest. After kicking him off her blade, the two women continued. As they reached the platform, an arrow rushed by their faces.

“I’ve got the Archer!” Elsa yelled out as she charged an Ice Spike.

“The Imperial bitch is mine then!” Anna called out, turning to face an Imperial female.

Both females took on their selected opponents. Elsa firing off Ice Spike one after another. As her Magicka started to drain, Elsa hit behind any sort of pillar or stone that she could. Wards wouldn’t work with the arrows. Popping out from behind the pillar, Elsa sent a spike to the archer before disappearing behind her pillar. A cry of agony meant that Elsa’s ice had hit it’s mark. She quickly popped out again to see that the spike had shot though the archer’s arm. While he was too preoccupied with the pain in his arm, Elsa shot another spike. This time it was sent right through his abdomen. His gaze met her icy ones in shock. His uninjured arm clutched his stomach and Elsa could practically see the life leave his eyes. As it happened, the man slumped over on his side, dead. Within a few minutes, Elsa had killed two people. A metal covered hand rested gently on her shoulder and shook it slightly.

This action cause Elsa to freeze up. “You did good.” It was only Anna. At that, Elsa relaxed and disabled her spells. “Come on, lets head in.” 

Elsa nodded as the two walked across the second platform to the steps and then right up to the third platform. There Elsa could see the massive door that led into the Barrow. It was two massive slabs of stones. Each were intricately carved with ancient Nord style carvings. Whoever had done it put a lot of effort into it. If she wasn’t in the middle of something important, Elsa would have probably just stared and admired the carvings. Unfortunately Anna probably wouldn’t tolerate it, so she sadly pushed the stone doors open.  
\------------------------------  
The inside of Bleak Falls Barrow wasn’t as well kept as the outside of it. Pieces of the architecture were crumbling. The rocks from the walls and ceiling could be seen on the ground before.The room that the two females were in was large and open save for the fallen rocks and a pillar in the center of the hall. The room was rather dark, the only light that came in was from a fire on the other end of the room.

Elsa could make out two people standing near the fire. No doubt they were bandits like the ones outside. Glancing over to Anna, Elsa could see that the other female already had her blade drawn. With that, Elsa activated her ice again. Instead of charging through the mostly open hall, the duo snuck along in the darkness. Despite being in full metal armor, Anna could be surprisingly quiet in it. Elsa was much quieter given that she wasn’t wearing any metal armor.

The two women had snuck all the way to the massive pillar in the hall and poked their heads around the side to observe the bandits. There was one female and one male. They were both Nord and they seemed to be having a conversation about some sort of claw.

"That dark elf wants to go on ahead, let him. Better than us risking our necks."

The thief was a dark elf. Almost instantly Elsa seemed more on her guard. Anna noticed this and prepared to rush out to attack the two bandits. She gestured to the male and then pointed to herself, saying that she would take the male. Then she pointed to the female and then back to Elsa, telling her to take down the female. Elsa nodded to her companion and charged her Ice Spike. Once the mage was prepared, Anna rushed out from behind the pillar with her greatsword raised high to strike.

While the two bandits were distracted by Anna, Elsa sprinted around the other side of the pillar and launched two Ice Spikes at her target. The spikes landed in the woman’s right shoulder and through her left side. The bandit stumbled but turned around to see Elsa charging up a second round of her Ice Spike. Despite the hardened ice that was impaled through her shoulder, the bandit managed to raise her bow enough to aim at Elsa. She pulled an arrow from her quiver and aimed it toward the mage but before she fired, a massive steel blade had protruded through her abdomen.

Just after, the arrow launched itself toward the blonde. Without thinking, Elsa disabled the Ice Spikes and raised her arms to protect herself from the arrow. Her arms blocked her head and she clenched her eyes shut. As her arms raised, a massive sheet of ice formed in front of her, protecting her from the arrow. After a few moments of silence, Elsa slowly opened her eyes. In front of her was a thick sheet of ice which held the arrow. The tip of the arrowhead was a few inches from her face but her ice had stopped it.

“Well that’s a useful spell.” Anna said from the other side of the ice. She was completely oblivious that the ice was no spell, it was all Elsa.

“Yeah, it is…Shall we continue?”

“Definitely.” Anna replied, removing the sword from the now dead bandit. “Follow me, and be on your guard. We don’t know what’s up ahead.” The Companion said as if she had explored many ruins like this one before. The two started to leave the massive hall when Elsa noticed a chest just before exiting.

“Hey, hold on.” The mage called before she walked over to the chest. Kneeling down, Elsa took a look at the lock. From what she could tell it was old, but it could be easily picked open. If all five years with the Khajiit taught her anything, it was how to be sneaky and how to pick locks. They claimed it would be useful skills for later in life. During her last week in Riften, Elsa had proven that she still could pick some easier locks. The said she was a decent lockpick but she would need practice. Who knew she would be putting her skills to use in an Ancient Nordic Ruin.

“What is is?” Anna asked, walking over to stand behind her.

“Just give me a moment.” The blonde said. Pulling a hand full of lockpicks from her pockets, Elsa got to work trying to break the lock open. "All about the tumblers..." She mumbled as she went to work. After one broken lockpick, Elsa heard the click of the chest opening. “I’ve still got it.” The mage muttered with a grin as she opened the chest.

“You know how to pick locks?” Anna asked, peering into the chest.

“What Khajiit doesn’t?” Elsa replied. Inside there was a small coin purse which the two took. Gold was always useful. There was also an amethyst inside with a minor healing potion. Taking both items, Elsa stuffed them into her pockets.

“That’s pretty useful, you should teach me later.” Anna said, starting off through the old tunnels.

“Maybe if I have time. I’m a busy woman.” Elsa responded, activating her Ice Spike spell.

Both Anna and Elsa crept through the twist and turns that the old tunnels had to offer. From what they could find, the ruin was completely empty, save for some spider webs. Elsa was looking at the ruin in awe of some of the architecture. How the Ancient Nords had build these tunnels was beyond her, but it was fascinating to her After all, this ruin was literally build into a mountainside, like carved into the mountain. Part of Elsa was in awe that the mountain didn’t collapse while the Nords were making the ruin. 

Anna’s eyes were scanning the ruins as well, but not for the same reason Elsa was. The redhead was more concerned for traps that the Nords could have left for any grave robbers. The Ancient Nord were known for their traps, they were also known for burying their dead with vasts amounts of treasure. In order to keep robbers from taking the treasure, traps were made to keep them out or kill them.

After what seemed to be about twenty minutes of carefully sneaking through the ruins (with Anna in the lead and Elsa covering their back) Anna halted suddenly. Elsa nearly ran into the armor clad woman, but she stopped herself just in time. Peering over Anna’s shoulder, Elsa could see exactly why her partner had stopped. There was a bandit in the room before them. He hadn’t noticed them yet, thankfully.

“Why are we waiting?” Elsa whispered to Anna. The companion pointed to some sort of podium that stood in the center of the room. On top of the podium was a lever. A few steps in front of the lever was a metal gate that was closed. The lever obviously opened it.

The two women watched in silence as the bandit casually walked toward the lever. Elsa was confused as to why they were waiting for the bandit to open the gate. Anna was waiting to see if her suspicions were correct. After a moment, the lever was pulled. Arrows shot out of the walls and before the bandit could move, he was killed but the trap. The arrows shocked the blonde and she jumped at the sight.

“It’s a trap!” Elsa gasped as her eyes focused on the dead man in the room.

“No. It’s a puzzle.” Anna replied, descending a set of stairs and entering the room. She sheathed her massive blade and looked over the room. 

To their left were three rotating pillars. Each had three images on them. A snake, a whale or a bird of some sort. Above the two on the second floor of the ruin were stone panels with the same image. Three of them, however the middle panel was gone. Next to the lever there was a broken panel though. Both assumed that it was the missing one from above.

“So a puzzle…” Elsa said out loud. She stood in front of the rotating pillars, rubbing her chin and thinking.

“I’ve seen them before. On my Trial.” Anna replied, she had wandered up to the second story platform to look at the matching stone panels. “Hey, turn the furthest one on the left to the snake.”

Elsa moved to the furthest pillar on the left. Gripping it tightly, she turned it to the right once to reveal the snake panel that she needed. “Alright, got it.” The mage called up.

Anna nodded and then moved to the broken middle panel. It was literally just broken stone. Peering over the ledge she saw that the panel was also a snake. “The next one is a snake too.”  
Elsa looked over at Anna questioningly, but Anna looked pretty serious that she was right. The mage shrugged and walked to the next panel. This time she had to turn it twice to get to the snake. “Alright, and the last one?”

“The whale fishy thing.” Anna replied. She jumped down from the ledge just as Elsa spun the pillar to the whale. “Alright, you stand back, just in case I’m wrong. I’ll take the lever.”

“Do you want me to do it. I have my ice shield… spell.” Elsa asked the armor clad female.

Anna paused and thought about it. It would be smarter for Elsa to pull the lever because she could protect herself with her ice spell. But if something happened and the High Princess of Skyrim had died in a ruin with her, Anna would be done for. In the end she shook her head. Protecting the Princess was more important. Besides she could run if needed. “I’ve got this. Don’t worry, I’m sure we figured out the puzzle.”

Elsa nodded and took a few steps back. The mage prepared herself to create and ice shield for the Companion but that moment never came. Instead Anna pulled the lever and the iron gates swung right open.

“Told you I did it right!” Anna cheered, walking through the iron gates. Elsa quickly ran after the woman through the gates. In the next room was a book surrounded by pretty little crystals. They were sitting on a table that was a few steps after the gate.

“What are these?” Anna asked, picking up the crystals. She held a light pink on in her palms.

“Soul gems.” Elsa replied, taking it from Anna’s hand. “This is a lesser soul gem.” Elsa looked at it momentarily before placing it back on the ancient table. “Don’t need it.” She mumbled not turning her attention to the book. Curiously, she picked up the book and started to read. Thief… Oh! The Adventures of Elsaf Erol! Elsa was shocked to see the story book in the ruin.

“What book is that?” Anna asked, peering over her shoulder.

“Its a story called Thief. The first book in the series is called Beggar.” Elsa replied closing the book. “Many Khajiit have read the books. They are useful for learning techniques.” Elsa explained closing the book. The story was short and she managed to finish it in a few minutes. “It goes Beggar, Thief, Warrior and then King. As a child, Beggar would be my bed time story with my pack.”

“That’s cute!” Anna replied, looking at the book in Elsa’s hands. “They would read you bedtime stories?”

“Of course!” Elsa replied, holding the book to her chest. She smiled as she remembered traveling with her pack. Before going to bed they would tell her stories. Some times from story books, sometimes tales from Elsweyr and sometimes made up stories about the Snow Khajiit who mad mastery over all things snow and ice. “All cubs get bedtime stories.” Elsa told her, as if it was common for everyone to have bedtime stories. “Don’t Nords?”

“No.” Anna replied simply. "I didn't get them as a kid."

"Then how did you have good dreams?" Elsa asked in shock. "All cubs are told bedtime stories to give them good dreams."

"I just did?" Anna asked, unsure of what Elsa meant exactly.

"Nord ways are strange to this one." Elsa mumbled, placing the book back down on the table. Her eyes caught a chest and instantly Elsa opened it. The two females looked through the chest to see gold and some potions. Anna took the potions and the two split the little amount of gold that they had found.

After closing the chest, Anna started down a wooden spiral staircase to the left of them. Elsa followed cautiously. It wasn’t much of a staircase as it had no stairs, it was more of a wooden spiral ramp. She didn’t trust the old wood though. Part of her felt like it would crack under the slightest pressure. Yet she still followed behind Anna.

“What’s that noise?” Elsa asked as the descended. It sounded like growling but the blonde had no idea what it was.

“I have no idea what you- SKEEVER!” Anna yelled as black rat like animals, the size of dogs leaped up and tried to attack them.

In an attempt to back away from the skeevers, Anna tripped over Elsa, causing her to fall. Elsa also fell under the weight of Anna’s armor. In shock, Elsa had turned the rest of the spiraling ramp into solid ice and the two females (and the skeevers) slid down the ramp at alarming speeds. It was a stone wall that caused them to halt. The skeevers hit the wall first, followed by the heavily armored Companion followed by Elsa. A sickening crunch sounded from behind the two females.

“What was that?” Elsa asked, sitting up. Her ice still covered most of the steps and floor. With a deep breath and a wave of her hands, the ice slowly started to melt into nothingness.

“I think we squashed the skeever…” Anna replied crawling to her knees. She turned her head to see three very squished skeever against the wall. None of them moved. They were definitely dead.

“I suppose that is just as effective as fighting.” Elsa said, standing up.

Anna quickly got to her feet and looked as the disfigured creatures. “Slightly painful but it worked… Let’s never do that again.”

“No promises.” Elsa joked out. 

“How do you do that ice thing? You covered the floor in ice kind of like you did yesterday with Jarl Balgruuf.” Anna asked her curiously. She wasn’t often around mages, but she was pretty sure that an average mage couldn’t freeze floors like Elsa had done.

“It was all part of my training.” Elsa responded, not wanting to give away too much.

“What else was apart of your training?” 

“Maybe I’ll show you later.”

Anna sighed but didn’t question the blonde. The two walked through the opening in the walls which revealed a spider web covered room. Everything was covered in cobwebs, even the floors.

“I have a feeling that Frostbite Spiders are ahead…” Anna mumbled as she reached for her blade.

“Whatever gave you that idea.” Elsa mumbled back, preparing her Ice Spikes.

Anna didn’t respond, instead she kept moving along. They moved slowly but cautiously. As the walked, they could hear a voice. It was calling for someone.

"Is... is someone coming? Is that you Harknir? Bjorn? Soling? I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I need help!"

The two smirked at that. They had found their claw thief. The voice was frightened. Moving through the stone room, they came to an opening which was covered by a thick web. Anna stabbed her blade into the bottom of it and used all her strength to rip it up through the sticky web. Soon the web came free and the two female entered a room completely covered in web. It was more covered than the other rooms! This one was a solid white.

On the other side of the room, a dark elf could be seen caught in a spiderweb. He seemed absolutely terrified about something that neither female could realize. Well, neither female could realize it until they looked up.

“That is one massive spider…” Anna said dumbly. “Alright Princess, go get it.”

Elsa smirked and aggressively threw two Ice Spikes at the spider. That caught the massive beast’s attention. Slowly it lowered itself to the ground. Elsa was able to send two more Ice Spikes to the massive beast before it had landed. Once it’s eight large legs hit the ground, Anna was off to fight it. 

Together, Elsa and Anna took down the massive spider without sustaining too major of injuries. Anna received a small cut on her face but Elsa was able to heal that quickly with some simple restoration magic.

“And to think, I only thought you could use ice.” Anna joked as Elsa healed her face.

“Ice is what I’m best with. But all Mages should know some restoration magic.” Elsa replied. She finished healing Anna rather quickly, as the cut wasn’t too deep. There was a chance it would leave a minor scar, but Elsa was sure that Anna probably wouldn’t care. The Companion rolled her eyes but grinned at the mage. Stowing her blade away, she and Elsa moved over to the captured dark elf.

"You did it. You killed it. Now cut me down before anything else shows up." The thief said frantically. It looked as if he was scarred for life.

“Claw first.” Anna responded, not willing to cut the thief down just yet.

"Yes, the claw. I know how it works. The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together! Help me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there." 

The two females looked at each other. Anna didn’t want to cut him down but it seemed like the only choice. Sighing, the Companion nodded. Elsa drew her skyforge steel sword and plunged it through the spider web. Like Anna had done earlier, Elsa used all of her strength to rip the blade straight up through the web. Elsa repeated the same action on the other side of the thief and her promptly fell to the ground.

“Now the claw.” Anna demanded.

“Hah, you think I would give you fools the claw.” With that, the thief quickly turned and sprinted through the ruin.

“Oh no you didn’t!” Anna hollered before beginning to give chase.

Elsa followed Anna. The sound of metal slamming against stone could be heard through the entire ruin, or so Elsa thought. Perhaps she had very good hearing. Either way, that was something she couldn’t test right now.

The two passed through the first room which held a nice chest and a soul gem. Elsa would have stopped to get it but she was more concerned about Anna not dying on her. Racing through a stone cavern and down a set of steps, Elsa saw that Anna had caught up with the thief. Caught up meaning that she had taken her greatsword and decapitated the Dunmer. His head rolled across the ground and all Elsa could do was sneer at it. This was why she never would trust a Dunmer.

Anna was now searching the thief’s body to find the Claw. After a moment, she was successful. The redhead also pulled out a leather bound journal. She didn’t know what it was used for but since it was with the claw, it may be useful later.

“Glad we found it. Now we have to get that sort of stone for the Court Wizard and we can leave.” Elsa said to Anna happily.

Suddenly, a low groan sounded from the area. The two women were instantly on her guard at that. Elsa’s eyes searched all over the room to try and figure out where the source of the noise was coming from. She noted that they were in a crypt, or what seemed to be a crypt. Bodies of ancient Nords could be seen buried and decaying. Then another low groan sounded, making Elsa tense up. Slowly ice started coating the walls as she tried for figure out what was happen.

“What was that?” The blonde asked, her head and eyes darting everywhere.

Anna gripped her greatsword tighter and growled. “Draugr.”


	5. The Secret of the Nords

Draugr. It just had to be draugr. The souls of men who worshiped dragons and followed the Dragon Priests. Of course. Looking about the crypts, Elsa could see three of the decomposed bodies headed her way. The smell of rotting flesh permeated the air, making it hard to breathe.

“Uh, Anna, what do we do now?” Elsa half shouted to the Companion.

“Kill them! Duh!” Anna yelled back, charging straight into the thick of battle.

As soon as Anna finished speaking, Elsa hurled an Ice Spike toward the head of a Draugr. Instead of the decaying body falling like it should have, it just stared dumbly at the mage. The two stared at each other for a moment before the draugr let out an angry cry. The massive decaying fleshy body ran toward Elsa and she panicked. Moving backwards, she shot another spike at the draugr but it did not slow.

“ANNA!” Elsa yelled as the draugr was gaining on her. “MY ICE ISN’T WORKING!” She was frantically using her ice and it was not so effective. “WHY ISN’T IT WORKING?” Just as she finished her shouting, she felt her back hit something. It was too soft to be a wall or even Anna in her armor. Slowly the blonde looked up and saw glowing blue eyes. She had run into a different draugr. With a terrified scream, Elsa jumped out of the way before an ancient sword came down on her head.

“What do I do? Anna what do I do?” Elsa shouted as she frantically dodged the two draugr chasing her.

“You have a sword!” Anna called back, parrying a blow from a draugr. “I hope it’s not for show!” The woman grunted and blocked another blow before forcing her opponent back.

Oh, right, blade. Bound Sword! Elsa disabled her ice spells and quickly changed her right hand to her conjuration spell of Bound Sword. As the woman drew her steel blade, she conjured her other one. Her bound blade was a deep purple color and resembled what some would call a Daedric sword. It was a rare weapon to have and liked rather intimidating.

With her blades ready to go, Elsa spun on her right foot and lunged forward with both blades. She didn’t expect the draugr to be so close to her though. As she lunged, her blades were sent through the exposed abdomen of the draugr and sunk in fight up to the hilt of both blades. The blue eyed draugr stared down at Elsa; both had dumb expressions on their face. The moment lasted for a split second before the impaled one slumped forward.

“EW IT TOUCHED ME!” Elsa yelped as the massive decaying human had fallen on top of her. The woman ripped her blades from its stomach and jumped backward.

Behind the now dead draugr, the other one that was chasing Elsa just stared at the body. Like the previous draugr, this one and Elsa had a stare down for a split second before it brought its ancient blade up to attack. With a mighty roar, the blade swung down and Elsa brought up her two blades to cross and block the attack.

While this fight was happening, Anna had taken on two of her own draugr. Unlike Elsa, she wasn’t disgusted by the creatures. The Companion had fought them on multiple occasions now, so she was used to them. However she was not used to the stench. To be honest, they smelled worse than they usually did. The Companion quickly ducked under a war ax coming toward her head. When she jumped up, she swung her massive blade, decapitating the ax wielding draugr. Her attention quickly turned to the archer who was sending arrows toward her. One had narrowly missed her cheek. Glaring daggers at the archer, Anna lifted her greatsword and charged at it. The already dead being knocked another arrow and fired it at the Companion, but Anna didn’t care.

White hot pain shot through the Companion's leg as the arrow found its mark. Still, Anna continued her charge. Like the other draugr, this one found its head getting lopped off in a matter of seconds. With her enemies down, Anna took a moment to glance over to Elsa.

The blonde was standing and looking toward the floor. Her blades were hanging down by her side. She still had the purple conjured one but it would undoubtedly fade soon. At her feet, two draugr were dead; from what, Anna couldn’t tell. The blonde’s hood was pulled down and her hair (which was clean and nice beforehand) was messed up and her bangs were flying every which way. It looked like they had successfully taken down the draugr.

“Well… That was eventful…” Anna said. Her voice was slightly pained.

Elsa looked over to see and arrow sticking right through the Companion’s thigh. She quickly sheathed her weapons (real and magical) before racing over to look at Anna’s leg. Arrow injuries were painful.

“Well at least it wasn’t your knee…” Elsa said jokingly. She knew what the old saying of taking an arrow to the knee meant.

“Don’t get me started on that saying…” Anna grumbled out. “Can you heal it?”

“Of course I can.” Elsa replied simply. She snapped off the feathers from the wooden shaft and looked back at Anna. “Why shouldn't I get you started on that saying?” Her hand was lightly resting on the back end of the arrow.

“Because ALL of the guards say it.” Anna groaned out. “Oh you’re a Companion; I bet you have lots of adventures!” Anna started off animatedly, “and of course I would be like ‘well yeah. I guess you could say I’m a bit of an adventurer,’ and then-” At this point, Anna wasn’t paying attention to Elsa anymore. “Then they’re like, ‘Oh I used to be an adventurer like you! Then I took an arrow to the knee!’ It’s just so-”

It was at that particular moment, Elsa shoved the arrow right through the rest of Anna’s leg. The young woman let out a pained cry. Anna glared down at the mage, who was now holding the rest of the arrow in her hands and smirking slightly.

“You did that on purpose.” Anna growled as Elsa started using her Healing Hands spell.

“Oh stop being a milk drinker.” Elsa responded as she worked her magic. “You sound like a five year old. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were one.”

“I am nineteen thank you very much!” Anna hollered back, making Elsa cringe at the loudness of her voice.

“You don’t act like it.” The mage joked back, now standing up. Elsa patted the top of Anna’s head and gave her a playful grin. “There you go, good as new.”

Anna rolled her eyes at the mage but she couldn’t help but crack a grin. As much as the woman had looked down upon magic users, never had she been so thankful to have one with her now. Magic was pretty useful actually. Before Elsa could turn to head out of the room, Anna noticed something in her hair.

“Uh, Elsa…”

“Yes?” She asked, turning around to face Anna.

The Companion blushes slightly at the innocent look that Elsa was giving her. She takes a few steps until she’s standing directly in front of Elsa. Anna raised her hand and placed it against the blonde’s hair. Now it was Elsa’s turn to blush. Both females stayed in that position for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes. It was Anna who moved first.

“Uh… you had this in your hair…” The Companion said awkwardly, plucking a bit of decaying draugr flesh from her hair. She quickly threw it to the ground and the duo just stared at it. To be quite honest, Anna had expected Elsa to scream and freak out about having something like that in her hair.

“Oh… Well you have bits of crushed skeever on the back of your armor.” Elsa said after a moment.

“WHAT!? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME!?” Anna screeched. The redhead turned her head and started slowly spinning just to try and see the crushed skeever flesh on her back. Elsa simply laughed, thinking that the young Companion was acting like a war hound chasing its tail. “Get it off! Get it off!” Anna cried out, trying to scrape it off. She wasn’t doing too well so Elsa finally took pity and helped her. Using her furry side of her gauntlets, Elsa managed to scrape most it off. During the fighting, Anna had taken most everything off. Now she just had bits of dried blood and time patches of fur and skeever tail.

“Well that was unexpected.” Elsa joked, wiping the excess ‘grossness’ off her gauntlets.

“I can’t believe you did that.” Anna grumbled out, unhappy with the Khajiit-Nord woman.

“I can’t believe YOU did that!” Elsa fired back, dying of laughter again. “Who knew that the big bad Companion of Jorrvaskr was so easily disgusted by crushed skeever guts? Wait until I tell that to the rest of the Companions.”

“You are never coming back to my Mead Hall.”

“I’m pretty sure as High Princess of Skyrim; I can do whatever I please.”

“Abusing your rank now, are we?” Anna replied, crossing her arms.

“That’s just business my dear.” Elsa replied with a smirk. “Now let’s get out of here… I don’t need to deal with any of those… things again…” Anna couldn’t help but silently agree with Elsa in those regards.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Barrow was filled with draugr. Despite having fought them before, Elsa still ran screaming and throwing her ice at them. It took Anna three separate battles to explain that draugr were practically immune to ice and frost. In her panic, Elsa often didn’t remember and she still fired multiple spikes until Anna screamed for her to use her blades. Their progress was halted slightly by swinging ax traps.

“So… Any plans?” Elsa asked as she stared at the axes. She had accidentally tripped a wire that had resulted in their swinging. It was Anna who pulled her away just in time.

“Well… We could always squeeze between the empty spots. I think there may be a way to disable the blade on the other side…”

“Any other ideas?” Elsa asked, not liking the idea of stopping between swinging blades and narrowly avoiding being chopped in half.

“Sprint?” The Companion asked, staring at the hall.

Sprint… Of course! Why didn’t I think of it before! “Remember how you wanted to know other things I learned in my training?” Elsa asked Anna curiously.

“Yup… Wait, you know how to get through?”

“Just stand back.” Elsa said with a grin. The mage spread her feet out and prepared herself to sprint. She took a deep breath and then grinned. “WULD!” She shouted, speeding through the blades before they could even touch her. Once on the other side, Elsa had narrowly missed the last swinging ax. She was thankful that she did though. The woman turned and looked around the side of the door until she found some sort of lever attached to the wall. Curiously, Elsa pulled it out and twisted. Once she let it go, the axes disappeared back into the wall.

Anna raced through the hall and nearly tacked Elsa to the ground in excitement. “HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?” The Companion screamed out in shock. She had never seen anything like than in all her life. It was amazing!

“It was all a part of training.” Elsa replied with a shrug. Of course Anna continued to pester the woman about it. Elsa refused to say anymore though. It didn’t prevent Anna from asking through the remainder of the trip.

The duo battled their way through oil slick rooms, which Elsa found that the lanterns that burned above were easy to shoot down with her ice. The fire from the explosion caught on to the oil and burned draugr mercilessly. She may not be able to shoot the draugr with ice, but she can shoot the lanterns which fall on the oil and burn them with her ice. It could be worse. At least the ice mage was somewhat amused in roasting the decaying bodies alive. The smell of burning flesh was disgusting but worth it.

At some point, the two found themselves walking down a creek into a massive open cavern. This was not like the other rooms of the barrow as this was more like a large cave. It looked natural. The duo followed the creek until it turned into a waterfall. Below was a stone bridge with a draugr. To their right was a path which Anna started down. Elsa stayed perched up at the waterfall. After a moment, she saw Anna carrying her sword. She was crouched at the exit of the tunnel, which turned into a long stony bridge. Smirking, Elsa sent an Ice Spike down to the bridge to distract the draugr. With the creature running off to investigate it, Anna sprang out and attacked. The attack was simple, quick and effective. Anna had taken care of the Draugr in a matter of moments. Once it was dead, Elsa took off down the path and met Anna on the other side of the bridge. In all actuality, she was walking up another path that came from the base of the waterfall.

“There was a chest down there…” Anna explained, holding up a coin purse. “It was locked so I kind of jammed Laaskuz into the lock and busted it.”

“Laaskuz?” Elsa asked, Anna grinned sheepishly and gestured to her blade. Life taker… Elsa thought as she looked at the blade.

“Some old scholar called it that when he saw me take down some Thalmor. We were escorting him to Riften and yeah… Paid us some good coin too.” Anna explained with a shrug. “It was a while ago… probably four years or more. Don’t remember much but I liked the name so I kept it.”

“It’s a fitting name…” Elsa mumbled quietly. After seeing how effecting Anna was while wielding it, Elsa could see how the blade was given such a name. “Let’s get moving though.”

Anna nodded and the two were off. After following the path, they came upon another Draugr. This one was stronger than the others they had faced but it was only one. The two females were easily able to take it out together. After killing it, they pushed open two massive wooden doors.

“This must be the inner sanctum…” Anna mumbled, “Be on your guard…”

“For what, more draugr?” Elsa mumbled out, not entirely pleased that they had more things to deal with. She had hoped that this was the end of the tunnel. Obviously not.

“Anything in here will likely be stronger than what we’ve faced.” Anna explained, as she started moving forward. Her grip on Laaskuz was tight and the redhead seemed prepared to hit anyone and everyone with it.

“Lovely… That’s just what I needed.” Elsa groaned. She pulled out her blade but readied an Ice Spike with her right hand. If there was anything she could shoot down, she would.

The two females carefully moved through the inner sanctum. For the most part, it was quiet. Oddly quiet in Anna’s mind. Elsa was just thankful to not be fighting anything. The only trouble that the two girls really faced was the swinging axes. Like before, Elsa took care of them so that both could get through unscathed. Even if Elsa could heal injuries, she could not fix a decapitated head… or a chopped off arm. She also didn’t want to drain her Magicka too much before any sort of battle. It took a while to charge back.

The two continued through the tunnels of the sanctum. Anna was in front while Elsa was protecting their back. From what they could see, it was mostly silent. That was something both were kind of thankful for. Anna was still slightly paranoid but for good reason.

Finally they came to a chamber with three draugr. Like Anna had predicted, they were far stronger than the previous ones. Like before, most of the fight was Elsa doing her best to evade the creatures while Anna fought them head on. Sensing that Elsa was the ‘weaker’ fighter of the two, the draugr had started to charge her. At some point, Elsa had screamed in fear and shock after cutting one arm off from the draugr. The shocking part was that it was still moving on the ground. It was only for a few seconds, but it scared Elsa enough to end up killing the draugr so its limb would stop moving. Afterward she literally hid behind Anna while the redhead fought.

The rest of the fight went quickly with Anna taking out the two remaining draugr. Afterward she made sure to mock the High Princess for being so squeamish about the draugr. Elsa reminded her about the skeever and that shut the redhead up. The two females traveled up a spiral wooden ramp which leads them to an iron bridge. Crossing it, they opened a large set of heavy wooden doors to find what must be the Hall of Stories. Both Anna and Elsa sheathed their weapons upon entering.

“Look at this…” Elsa mumbled, shocked. The carvings in the walls told stories of ancient powers hidden by the Nords. Not that the blonde could read them, but they were absolutely stunning. Instantly Elsa approached the walls and looked over the carvings. She was absolutely fascinated. The carvings told a story; unfortunately Elsa was unable to read them.

“When you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” Anna replied, clearly not impressed with architecture like Elsa was. Instead she pulled out the Golden Claw and moved to the door at the end of the hall. Studying the dragon claw, Anna matched up the pictures. On what would be the inside part of the claw, or the palms, there were three icons lined up much like the door. The door was the puzzle and the Claw held the answers.

“Bear,” She muttered first. The Companion pushed her hands against the very outer ring and spun it once to the right. This revealed the bear icon. Looking down at the claw again, Anna figured out the second picture. “Bug, butterfly, firefly moth thing…” She muttered, moving her hands to the middle ring. She spun this one twice so that the second icon matched with the ones on the claw. Finally she moved to the innermost ring. According to the claw, she was supposed to turn it to the owl. With one turn to the right, the owl icon appeared. Smirking, Anna pressed the three talons of the golden claw into the imprint in the door. As she did so, the rings on the door moved around, and the door slowly began to lower. It was that sound that made Elsa pay attention again.

“Whoa…” The two females muttered in shock. They slowly made their way into a massive chamber. It was like a massive cavern with light filtering in from above. There were two separate waterfalls, bats flying toward them and a massive stone platform. The two ducked under the bats and slowly made their way to the large stone platform. Once on top, Anna was drawn to a massive wall with words in dragon language.

The Companion walked forward and placed her hand against the wall. Her metal covered fingers started tracing over the carvings. Elsa’s icy gaze focused on the Companion. Anna seemed to be in a sort of trance like state. The woman was ignoring everything Elsa and she was completely focused on that particular point in on wall. Elsa’s eyebrows furrowed but then suddenly shot up. A light blue light seemed to surround the redhead.

“Fus…” Anna said quietly once the light had died down. Her trance was broken now.

“What did you say?” Elsa asked quickly, drawing her blade. What Anna had said was the word for force in Dragon Language; Dovahzul.

Anna turned and looked at Elsa curiously. “'Fus'. That’s what that word says.” She explained, pointing to the carving on the wall. “I don’t know the rest of it, but that says 'fus'.”

Elsa frowned slightly and moved forward to the wall. Her left hand still gripped her blade but her right hand was placed against the wall. “Het nok faal vahlok,” Elsa muttered as her hand moved across the wall. She moved slowly as she tried to properly read everything. The wall was old and crumbling so it made the words slightly more difficult to read. She raced back to the other side of the wall to read the next line. “Deinmaar do dovaahgolz,” The Princess muttered, not pleased. She quickly moved back again to read the third line. “Ahrk aan fus do unslaad,” Elsa read, growing more nervous. She gulped audibly before finishing the last line. “Rahgol ahrh vulom.”

“So…” Anna started off. “I heard the word 'fus'! I’m right!” Elsa nodded, with her eyes wide. The mage turned back to face the still closed coffin that was a mere feet away from her. She summoned her Bound Sword and gripped it tightly. “What did the rest of the words say?”

“Here lies the guardian, Keeper of Dragonstone,” Elsa started off slowly and gravely. “And a force of unending rage,” The woman paused, adjusting her grip on her blades, “and darkness.” As Elsa finished her translation of the words, the coffin burst open and revealed a very powerful looking draugr. On its chest was the so called Dragonstone they were looking for. In its hands was an ancient blade which glowed blue.

“Watch out, his blade is enchanted!” Anna shouted, bringing out Laaskuz. Elsa nodded and swung her blades in a threatening manner. The two females charged forward, blades raised to attack. It was Anna who got there first. Despite being dead and decaying, the draugr put up a good fight. Almost better than the members of the Circle. The creature managed to defend itself well from Anna and Elsa quite well. It was good, but Anna was better. Just as the woman was about to go for the killing blow, something unexpected happened.

“FUS RO DAH!” It shouted in the language of dragons, pushing Anna back and slamming her into the Word Wall. Elsa stood there, shocked and the draugr took its opportunity to strike her. The mage barely had a chance to defend herself. Instead of being killed, she slipped off the edge of the stone platform and was sent rolling down a set of stone steps, painfully. Elsa landed with a splash in a small creek that ran around the area.

The draugr had started to try coming after her, but Anna had come to Elsa’s rescue. Anna and the draugr fought hard. It was good for Elsa, though. The ice mage quickly scrambled to her feet and grabbed her blade. The back of her armor was soaked and the blonde could feel the cool water running down her back. The back of her head was also soaked and she could feel loose hair sticking to her neck.

Elsa raced back up the steps, now wielding her blade and oddly a ball of fire in her right hand. The draugr shouted at Anna again, pushing her back, just as Elsa reached the platform again.

“Dir (die)!” Elsa shouted, sending flames toward the creature. This spell was a novice fire spell which Elsa had been forced to learn. This was the only fire spell that she knew and she was still terrible with using it. It was useful for lighting fires and that was all Elsa ever used it for.

The draugr cried out in rage and turned toward Elsa. His glowing blue eyes glared at the woman. The creature puffed it’s chest out and Elsa raced off toward the side. As she did that, it shouted but missed Elsa completely. Just before it could come after Elsa, Anna jumped back in to save the mage.

“ELSA! HOW IS HE DOING THAT!?” Anna yelled, now fighting the draugr.

“WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT I KNOW?” Elsa shouted back, equally as confused as Anna was. While Anna was taking the creature down with her blades. Elsa kept using the fire spell in short bursts to distract it.

“Meyus kendo (Foolish warrior)!” The draugr growled out in its raspy angered voice. “Hi fent neh kron (You will never win)!” It brought it’s enchanted blade down on Anna’s shoulder, hard. Frost spread over the Companion’s armor making her unable to move her arm. Before the enchanted blade could hit her again, it was blocked by a purple glowing one.

“Get back, Anna. I have a plan.” Elsa said quickly, moving to take over the fight. The redhead did as she was told and she raced back toward the Word Wall. Her frozen arm held Laaskuz while her free hand took out a small dagger and began to chip away at the frost.

“Alright, what’s the plan?” Anna yelled as she watched Elsa and the draugr exchange blows. The coating of frost was thick, but Anna was able to break it after a few moments of hacking.

“Just stay-” Elsa was cut off when she raised her blades to block. She pushed the enchanted one off and began speaking. “Stay there! Point the tip of Laaskuz at me but don’t move.”

“I’m not liking this plan!” Anna hollered back. She was now peeling the molded pieces of ice away from her precious armor. Eorlund is going to kill me… Anna thought sadly after seeing scratches and dents from her hacking. “Let me help you!”

“Help later, listen now!” Elsa shouted before she bashed the hilt of her blade on the draugr’s helmet. The ringing inside disoriented it enough for Elsa to take a few steps. By the coffin was a table which Elsa raced toward. Pressing her back up against it, Elsa readied herself for more fighting. By this time the draugr had regained most of its senses and began to charge at Elsa. What it didn’t realize was that she had lead it into a trap.

“Anna! Are you ready?” Elsa called, defending against a blow to the side.

“Ready!” By now she had chipped off enough frost to let her hold the blade in the way Elsa had directed her.

Elsa smirked and quickly sheathed her Bound Sword. Disabling her spells, Elsa called upon her ice magic. Her right hand swept out in front of her, freezing the ground. The draugr halted its attack to look down in confusion. When it looked back up, Elsa wore a smirk on her face. Taking in a deep breath, Elsa shouted.

“FUS RO DAH!” The combination of Unrelenting Force and the slick floor sent the Draugr flying backwards. It landed with a sickening crunch and with Laaskuz sticking right out of its abdomen. "Zu'u los nid kendov. (I am no warrior)" The woman growled at the life left the draugr’s eyes.

Anna stared at Elsa, dumbstruck by what had happened. Elsa could do exactly what the draugr could do. Almost instantly the woman’s mind went to the legends about the Dragonborn. All Nords knew about the Dragonborn. Anna had heard the stories herself. The Dragonborn could learn to speak in the Dragon Language and Shout like the Greybeards did on their mountain. Was Elsa the Dragonborn?

The woman kicked the draugr off her blade and quickly sheathed it. Using her boots, she rolled the creature onto its back. There on its chest rested the Dragonstone. It was Elsa who picked it up though and stowed it away in a hidden pocket of her armor.

“So, care to tell me how you suddenly know the word 'fus'?” Elsa asked, she was actually pointing her blade at Anna’s chest. Her gaze was hard and she seemed absolutely threatened by Anna’s presence now.

“I have no idea.” Anna replied honestly, holding her hands up. “The wall, there was just chanting and then some sizzling and the word was glowing blue! It was calling to me!” Anna gestured back to the wall behind her. “This isn’t the first time it’s happened either!”

That came as a shock to Elsa. “What do you mean? What other words do you know?” Her blade moved closer to Anna until it was almost touching her. Elsa’s hand was shaking though. Anna could see that. She was nervous.

Anna remained silent for a moment and glanced up to the ceiling, trying to recall the other word or words she knew. “"Feim'… and 'Yol'.” She looked back to Elsa, who had by now dropped her arm to her side. Droplets of water slowly ran down her porcelain face as she stared at Anna in shock. “Do you know what they mean?”

“Of course I do!” Elsa replied quickly, sheathing her weapon. After all, it was she who read the wall and translated everything! “But how can you read them? You don’t know Dovahzul, do you?”

“Talos bless you?” Anna asked, now standing up.

“Wait what- I didn’t sneeze. I said Dovah- oh never mind. You probably don’t know it. It’s a dead language.” Elsa replied, walking past Anna to look at the Word Wall. She had seen one like it before, at the Throat of the World. But that one had nothing on it. “Hey, get me that linen wrap over there and the charcoal.”

“Why?” Anna asked her, confused. She didn’t argue with the mage, but she was just confused. Moments later she was next to Elsa with the linen wrap and requested charcoal. The items had been on the old table.

Elsa knelt down and spread out the roll of linen and began to write the runes with the charcoal. If she had paper, she would have used that but the linen was all she had. As she copied down the words, Anna could hear Elsa muttering the words in the harsh dragon language. Somehow it sounded gentle with the way she spoke. Anna liked how the words rolled off Elsa’s tongue. When she finished, Elsa carefully folded up the linen and stored it in her pockets.

While Elsa was copying down the runes on the linen, Anna was looking at the enchanted blade. Enchanted weapons generally sold for quite a lot of money. The Companion slung it over her back and stowed it with her greatsword. She was definitely selling this to someone. Probably that Court Wizard or something.

“So, shall we get out of here?” Elsa asked curiously.

“Yeah! There are some steps this way!” Anna happily grabbed Elsa by the hand and pulled the woman up a set of steps. This brought them to a platform with a switch. Anna pulled the switch and revealed a secret tunnel.

“Woo! Secret tunnel! Secret Tunnel! Through the mountain! Secret secret secret secret tunnel!” Anna sang happily as the tunnel was revealed. Elsa looked at the Companion strangely for a moment but then she realized that it was probably one of the songs sung at Jorrvaskr. She had been so drunk the night before that she hardly remembered anything they sang. There was a lot of Ragnar the Red if she remembered correctly.

The two women happily walked through the rocky tunnel. This was not as well carved out as the rest of the barrow or sanctum. It truly looked like a rocky cave. Anna had tripped over a few rocks as they ventured through the tunnels. Elsa couldn't help but snicker at her clumsiness from behind her. After a good twenty minutes of Anna's stumbling around, they had finally made it out of Bleak Falls Barrow.

The two were now standing upon a platform at the exit of the barrow; a rocky and probably very unstable platform at best. From there they could see massive forests and Lake Ilinalta. The lake was probably the biggest in all of Skyrim! The fact that the lake was visible meant one thing, they had gone through the mountain and they were now in Falkreath Hold. Judging by the sun's placement in the sky, it was nearly dark. They had been in the Barrow all day! That explained why Elsa was so tired though.

"C'mon, let's go." Anna said jumping down from the platform. She caught on some rocks and began jumping down the mountain. They weren't very high, but Elsa was still nervous at the idea. As Elsa debated whether or not to jump, Anna had already made it down the mountain. It was probably only a thirty foot drop, but Elsa didn't want to risk it.

"Come on, Princess!" Anna joked out from the base of the mountain. "Just jump! I'll catch you!"

"Why should I jump?" Elsa hollered back, clearly nervous. “That’s completely crazy!”

"Come on! It will be some crazy sort of trust exercise or something! You trust me right?" Anna replied with a grin. Elsa raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Anna couldn’t see Elsa’s skeptical look from her position, but she assumed Elsa had just rolled her eyes at Anna’s crazy notion. "Or you could do that fancy sprinty thing down the mountain."

That's not a bad idea. Elsa contemplated that idea for a moment before deciding that would be a better idea than jumping. The Princess tentatively took a step of the platform. Then another. Rocks slid out from under her feet and Elsa frantically gripped the rocky slope. Once she was sure that the rocks could hold her body weight, she let go. Finally she was balanced of the slope.

"WULD NAH KEST!" Elsa shouted, speeding down the mountain slope. In the end, she landed quite close to Anna.

"All a part of training?" Anna asked, not even bothering to ask her if she could be shown. By now Anna realized it was a lost cause.

"Exactly." Elsa replied. "I think that got the rest of the water off my armor and out of my hair though." The two grinned at that for a moment and then started off to the east.

Anna knew this area better than Elsa did, so the Companion was leading them through the forests. They knew that the lake would soon flow out into the White River. If they followed the water, they would return back to Riverwood where Marsh and Joan would be waiting for them. The trip to Riverwood was about an hour. To pass the time, the two would tell stories of their pasts and just general information about themselves.

"So you're originally from Falkreath?" Elsa asked, trying to figure out Anna's family history.

"Nope, my family on my mom's side is. My uncle, Kai was the Jarl of Falkreath Hold. Now he's a Thane and my cousin, Hans, is the Jarl."

"Jarl Hans is your cousin?" Elsa asked curiously. She knew of Jarl Hans. The High Princess didn't approve of him as a Jarl. Kristoff's reindeer Sven could do a better job. "So does that make you, Falkreath Nobility?"

“In a way it does.” Anna said with a shrug. “My Ma gave up that life to be with my Da. I guess she was disowned of something. Uncle Kai liked Da, but my other uncle Froan, that’s Hans’ dad, didn’t like him.”

“Why didn’t your uncle like your father?” Elsa asked, now very curious.

“Da was a Stormcloak when my Ma met him. He was burying one of his Shield-Brothers. Uncle Froan is a huge Imperial supporter… he’s also a milk drinker. Hans is too.” As she spoke, Elsa could tell that the girl did not hold her uncle and the current Jarl of Falkreath in high regards. Though it was probably because they were ‘milk drinkers’. To be referred to as a milk drinker was a huge offense to any warrior. It was essentially calling them a coward who can’t fight their own battles. “So when Ma left with Da, Uncle Froan disowned her. When they died, her did let Uncle Kai take me in. Instead I was sent to the Grey-Manes. Da sold ore to Eorlund and they both were Stormcloak supporters so there I went. I guess my Da was real good friends with them. Joined the Companions when I could and I’ve been there ever since.”

“So how did Hans, the youngest of all his siblings, get the Jarl’s Throne?” Elsa asked. This was the question everyone had been wondering for the past few months. Jarl Hans was now the youngest Jarl in Skyrim. There hasn’t been a Jarl his age since Jarl Weselton of Dawnstar. “After all if was your uncle Kai who initially had the throne…”

“They say it was Uncle Kai’s failing health. But in reality, it’s because Hands bribed Imperials.” Anna spat out. “He’s got twelve older brothers; a couple are dead from going off to the Legion. His older brother Phillip was a guard in Falkreath but after an incident with a bear, he quit. They say he was saved by a beautiful woman and she and her aunts saved him. I hear he and the woman live in Rorikstead now.” Anna explained. “He’s got another in Morthal runnin’ the mill, Adam, he was a Companion like me but fell in love and left. He’s got lots of brothers all over the place actually. Hans was given the title because he promised to support the Imperials. They kicked my uncle off the throne and there the Milk Drinker Hans sits.”

“Is it true that he’s the youngest of thirteen?” Elsa asked curiously. She knew that was one of the other strange rumors surrounding the young Jarl.

“Truer than Talos that is.” Anna told her as they walked over the grass covered ground. The trees here were sparse and the lake had now turned into the White River. To their right, Elsa could see the Three Guardian stones up on the stony outcropping. They were close to Riverwood now!

“How does one woman have thirteen children!?” Elsa asked, shocked.

“She don’t. Hans is a bastard child. His Ma was an Imperial. He, the eleventh brother: Peter and the seventh: Hercules are biological brothers. Froan never married. All his sons are bastards. His first son, Brynjolf, is off doing Talos knows what. The man’s gotta be almost 40 now. He left Falkreath when he was but a lad. The second brother went to study Magic at the college, Arthur is his name. The third, fourth and fifth brothers were triplets who left to join the Legion. They say they're fighting the Thalmor now. I get letters from them still. The sixth, Skjoldr was killed in the Legion while in Hammerfell." Anna frowned slightly as she mentioned the sixth brother.

"Were you close to Skjoldr?"

"I was." Anna said, choking on her words slightly. "He would visit me in Whiterun all the time before he left. He was fun. I guess you could say he was the big brother I never got."

Elsa nodded. Her mind went back to J'fabil. The young Khajiit male was like her older brother. He protected her, played with her and taught her everything he knew. "I had someone like that in my pack. His name was J'fabil. He snuck me sweets with every meal. We would play on the road when we traveled. Sometimes he was a Saber tooth tiger and I was Ri'elsa – Master of the Whispering Fang. Sometimes he was a bandit and I was the Famous Snow Khajiit."

Anna chuckled slightly; no doubt Elsa's memories were very similar to Anna's… Maybe without the Snow Khajiit part though. "Famous Snow Khajiit?" Anna asked her with a grin on her face.

"It's a childhood story." Elsa explained with a shrug. "But you only got through half of the thirteen brothers; I want to hear the rest."

Anna snorted. "Nosy."

"I'm the Princess." Elsa told her, playing her trump card.

"Your wish is my command, Majesty." Anna joked back. The two laughed slightly before Anna decided to continue. "So Hercules is the seventh, he joined the Legion too. He's actually in Skyrim right now. He and Skjoldr were only a few days apart. They acted a lot like twins. They were also the last kids that Froan had for a few years. Then all of a sudden, three new boys were born all within a year of each other. Phillip was first, making him the eighth son. Adam was the ninth son, born two months after Phillip. Erik came at the very end of the year putting him at ten. Erik's Ma left with him when he was ten and they never came back. No one knows where he is, probably a better place that’s for sure." The Companion explained casually. "I met him once when I was little."

"What happened to the other two?"

"I just told you! Phillip is in Rorikstead and Adam runs the mill in Morthal. He was a Companion, 'member?"

"Oh right! So many brothers, forgive me for not keeping track." Elsa told her giggling slightly.

"You're forgiven Princess. Now on to Peter. He's a mage like Arthur, they're at the College. And well that's all."

"Isn't Peter eleven?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah."

"Well what happened to twelve?"

"No idea. His Ma took him when he was a baby. She was smart like Erik's Ma. We know that twelve is alive. I was told he's blonde and he has gold eyes. Kinda looked like Uncle Kai before he got fat too. So I guess he's gonna be big and beefy and strong."

The rest of their journey was silent. Thankfully it was also quick. About five minutes later, Riverwood was in sight. Both females grinned at that. They would be home soon. The two jumped over stones near the town and crossed the river. Soon enough they were walking the streets and making their way to the two horses that stood outside the Riverwood Trader.

Marsh happily ran up to meet his master and pressed his massive muzzle to her chest. Elsa grinned and threw her arms around the horse. "It's good to see you to Marshie." Elsa mumbled, petting the massive horse's mane. "We've gotta go boy. I hope you ate." A snort told Elsa that the horse had been grazing and he would last. "I'll get you carrots in Ivarstead."

"Ivarstead?" Anna had now started listening to the two.

"Yes. We have business to take care of." Elsa explained, letting go of her steed. She opened the secret pocket of her armor and pulled out the Dragonstone. "Here, get back to Whiterun. Get some sleep tonight too. It will be late when you return."

Anna took the Dragonstone and placed it in Joan's saddle bags. "I was planning on staying here for the night actually. I'll go back tomorrow."

"Even better." Elsa replied. Within moments she had gracefully swung up onto the massive steed. "Have a good night. I need to be off."

"Wait!" Anna called before Elsa could leave. "Will I see you again?"

"I should hope so," Elsa tossed Anna a small purplish gem. "I have to show you how these work. Not to mention I should be getting some of that coin from returning that claw."

"Oh good." Anna said with a grin. She held the Soul Gem close to her heart happily. "Until we meet again?"

"Until then." Elsa replied kicking Marsh to start him moving.

"Wait! Elsa!" The woman didn't stop her horse, but she looked back at Anna with a questioning look. "I'm sorry about pestering earlier. I didn't mean to be like that."

"I understand, now I really do have to leave."

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye!"

Within moments, Marsh's thundering hooves could he hears speeding out of the small town. The two disappeared from Anna's sight in minutes. Once Anna lost sight of the two, she turned to the wooden door of the Riverwood trader. She had a claw to return and gold to collect.

****************************************************************************************

The moons were high in the sky and darkness covered the land of Skyrim as Elsa and Marsh raced through the night. The two had been running as fast as they could for hours now. The wind was whipping through Elsa hair, causing it to start coming out of her braid. Thundering hooves could be heard through the sparsely wooded area as the two sped over the cobblestone paths. As Marsh's hooves came in contact with the stone path, Elsa could hear how his spiked horse shoes scraped over the stone.

By the time Elsa had arrived in the little farming town of Ivarstead, it was nearing midnight. The road was empty save for a handful of guards which patrolled the streets. Elsa rode Marsh up until the steps of the Vilemyr Inn, the local gathering area.

"Give me just a moment, boy. I'll be out with carrots soon." With that, Elsa disappeared into the tavern.

The sound of a beautiful lute could he heard as Elsa entered the tavern. Over by the fire stood Lynly Star-Sung who was playing her lute with practiced grace. In all of Elsa's years in Solitude, she did not remember the woman ever studying at the Bards College. It didn't matter, she played quite well. She didn't sing, but she played the lute elegantly.

"Ma'elsa! Welcome back!" The Nord woman called out to her.

Elsa smiled at the woman and bowed her head. "Many thanks for your kind welcome." The woman said in her smooth low Khajiit tone. The fires in the inn were roaring, making the place quite warm. Almost too warm in Elsa's mind. However she loved the cold.

At the sound of her name, a man from behind the bar looked up. "Ah! Ma'elsa! I have messages for you from Solitude. Quite a few actually…" Elsa hastily moved to the bar to look at the letters. There were ten letters for her. The woman gulped audibly at the sheer amount. "Do you want to send a message back? The courier is asleep now but he can take it tomorrow."

"Yes…" Elsa replied quickly, drawing out the word. She was given a bit or paper and a quill with ink. Quickly the woman began to write. Her words were quick and messy, not as nice as her typical notes. Over all, the note was short. Elsa relayed her success with Maven Black-Briar and the Thieves Guild. She also spoke of the ambush, her near death experience and the dragon. Elsa briefly mentioned Anna and how the Companion needs to be pardoned if she has any charges against her.

Do not worry for my safety. I am healthy and well. I will remain at High Hrothgar to look into the return of the dragons and further my training to the best of my ability. Stay safe, look after Haafingar. Extra soldiers should be sent to Dragon Bridge for protection. The dragons could strike anywhere. It's best to be prepared for the worst. Send my love to everyone.

Elsa signed the note with a snowflake, which had become her signature over the past five years. After sealing the note, she passed it back to the barman.

"Anything else for you?" He asked her.

"Carrots," Elsa said quickly, "And other supplies." Other supplies meant food for the Greybeards.

The man nodded and filled up two large sacks with supplies for them. A large pile of carrots had been placed on the counter for Marsh. Once the supplies were ready, Elsa placed her coin on the table and took the sacks.

Soon enough, the sacks were placed in Marsh's saddle bags. After two carrots, the two started up the treacherous Seven Thousand Steps. The journey was long and harsh. Wolves, Ice Wraiths and other foul creatures awaited travelers who dared make the pilgrimage up the steps. After making the trip every few weeks, Elsa had grown used to the journey. She knew where the wolves usually struck and the Frostbite Spiders, if any. On occasion she would run into a Frost Troll, but that was rare. Since it was late, most everything but Frostbite Spiders and maybe Ice Wraiths would be sleeping.

As predicted, Elsa had only encountered Frostbite Spiders. Once she rose higher in the steps, the icy forms (that resembles a fish) of Ice Wraiths appeared. For these little buggers, her ice was useless, so she used her blades to take them out. By the time Elsa had arrived to the large stone Monastery, it was at least one in the morning. The young blonde was tired but she had a mission to take care of.

Elsa pushed Marsh up the stone steps of High Hrothgar and helped her massive steed in though the stone doors. Upon entering, they were greeted with silence. It was quickly broken by Marsh's metal horseshoes hitting the stone floor. Almost instantly afterward, a loud bark sounded and claws could be heard scratching against the ground. Seconds later, a large white war hound appeared from a hall to their left and her ran right into the massive entryway.

"Olaf!" Elsa called out happily. She and Marsh raced up to the hound. Elsa was promptly knocked on her back while Olaf jumped on her and began to lick her face. "Olaf! Get off me you silly boy!" Elsa laughed out, but Olaf continued to shower his master with affection. During the gleeful reunion, no one noticed an elderly man in a dark cloak staring at the sight with a smile.

"Hi lost daal (you have returned)." The elderly man spoke to her with a small grin on his face.

"Geh, In. Zu'u lost pogaas wah fun (Yes, Master. I have much to tell)." Elsa responded, finally able to get Olaf off her body. She sat up and petted the happy hound. "Dovah lost daal (Dragons have returned)."

Her statement shocked the man. "Dovah (Dragons)?" He asked her.

"Geh. Zu'u lost nun niin. Zu'u lorot Zu'u worax Alduin (Yes. I have seen them! I think I saw Alduin)."

"Bo wah Paarthurnax. Fun mok daar! (Go to Paarthurnax. Tell him this!)" The man gestured to the doors at the back of the Monastery.

Elsa nodded to the man and turned to stand up. She unloaded the supplies she had taken up for them, leaving a little bit for her, Marsh and Olaf. Once she was finished, she lead the two through the stone building and out to the courtyard in the back. Snow was falling lightly all over the courtyard. It looked lovely in Elsa's mind. The small group ventured to the back of the area and up a large set of stairs. There they stood on a platform before a large stone arch; much like the ones she had seen a Bleak Falls Barrow. Behind the archway, a massive snowstorm could be seen roaring.

"LOK VAH KOOR!" Elsa shouted. The sheer force of the snowstorm against her Voice was enough to cause her to stumble backwards. Thankfully Marsh was behind her and steadied his master with his large head.

"Thanks Marsh. C'mon Olaf, you're leading." Elsa told the hound as she mounted up on Marsh. The white hound raced forward up the path. Over the past year, the path to the Throat of the World was used more often than it had been in years past. The snowy path was pretty safe, a few Ice Wraiths here and there, but nothing that Olaf couldn’t take care of by himself.

The snow here was deep from the constant snowstorms. That was the reason that Elsa rode Marsh as they traveled. Olaf was always bouncing around so the large amount of snow did not inhibit him much, if at all. The three made good time. Elsa shouted the last storm away, using the shout known as Clear Skies. After she did so, the three made their way to the Throat of the World.

Up at the top of this mountain, the snow fell gently to the ground. Further up on the snow covered rocks was a Word Wall, which was similar to the one from Bleak Falls Barrow. The only difference was this one didn’t have words on it. To the right of the wall was a large tent full of furs.

Elsa dismounted from Marsh and looked over the snowy mountain. “Master?” She called out tentatively. “Master?” She called again, not seeing the figure she was looking for. Before she called a third time, she felt the wind rush over her head. The blonde turned to face the Word Wall and grinned.

“Drem yol lok.” An old voice said to Elsa.

“Drem yol lok, In Paarthurnax.” Elsa replied with a small bow.

“You have returned. And you have important news.”

“I do.” Elsa replied. It was rare that she spoke English with Paarthurnax. He clearly could sense the exhaustion in her voice. “I believe Alduin has returned.”

“Alduin. The first born of Akatosh. The older brother.” The voice said, as if he was remembering. “Yes, I believe you are correct, Od Vahdin. But you knew that I knew that. Now what is the news you really wish to say?”

“Dovahkiin.” Elsa said quickly. “I believe the Dragonborn has appeared.”

At that statement, a long gray neck attached to a large grey head moved. The head looked at Elsa, interested. “And what makes you say this?”

Elsa pulled the linen wrap from her pockets and unfolded it. Making sure it was facing the right way; Elsa flipped it so that Paarthurnax could read what she had written. It was slightly smudged but the elderly dragon could read. “I was in Bleak Falls Barrow with a Nord woman. When we came upon a wall like this, a blue energy surrounded her. Somehow she had learned the first word of Unrelenting Force…” Paarthurnax curiously cocked his head, telling Elsa to go on. “And she knows Feim and Yol.” Elsa finished off lamely. A large yawn passed her lips and the blonde blushed. In the darkness, it wasn’t visible. “What should we do?”

“We shall do nothing tonight. Rest my young kaaz.”

Elsa nodded and yawned a second time. “Alright… Good night." She bowed her head in respect to her master, and then turned to wander into her tent.

Olaf and Marsh were already inside the warmer tent, waiting for Elsa. Marsh was laying on a massive pile of hay. Well, half laying and half leaning on it. The horse was under a large fur blanket that covered his back. Off to the side, his saddle and saddle bags were laying. Apparently Olaf had helped the horse out of them.

The young woman kicked off her boots and placed them by Marsh's saddle bags. She unclipped her cloak and slid it off her body. Elsa ran her fingers through her hair, trying her best to untangle it. She let her hair out of the braid that Tilma had done for her.

"Alright boys, lets sleep. We deserve some long sleep." Marsh snorted at that. He had run from Whiterun all the way to Ivarstead! That was a six hour journey!

The small group curled up in the protection of their tent and they all fell asleep. Within moments they were knocked out to the world.


	6. The Way of the Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, six chapters! Happy reading! love you all!

Elsa had awoken late the next morning. Her exhaustion had clearly taken a toll on her. It was Olaf who had woken up the blonde woman by his incessant affection. The white war hound was smothering Elsa with licks and he was practically laying on her. In the corner, Marsh could be seen snorting, but not moving to help his master one bit. It was as if the massive horse was laughing and making fun at Elsa.

"Olaf!" Elsa called out while laughing slightly at the dog's enthusiasm. "I'm up! I'm up!" Elsa told him loudly, trying to move the massive dog off her. After a moment of wrestling with the dog, Elsa had managed to push the white hound off her chest. Olaf was a large dog, even for War Hounds. It was said that he was half dog and half Arctic wolf. No one would take him because of the beliefs that he may kill them or turn feral. He was an outcast, a stray with no real home, much like Elsa had been. Naturally, Elsa took the happy dog. He was still in his puppy stages when she first got him, now he was a large fearless war hound who would protect Elsa with his life. He was also one of the sweetest creatures that Elsa would ever meet.

Still clad in her traveling clothes, Elsa crawled over to Marsh, who was still lying on the ground (and not inclined to get up any time soon). The woman unbuckled his saddle bags and pulled out the sack with food for them. Elsa dug through the bag and pulled out a few carrots. She tossed them to Marsh, who skillfully caught them in his jaws. He placed them down on the ground and began to happily munch on them. Next Elsa pulled out a bit of dried meat. She couldn't tell what it was, probably a chicken though. The mage held the piece out to Olaf. The white hound gently took his meal from her hands, as not to hurt her. Afterwards he wolfed it down as fast as he could. For Elsa, she just took a small piece of venison and a sweet roll that Wilhelm, the Innkeeper, had packed especially for her.

Sweets and meat was what made up many Khajiit's diets. The cat like creatures of Elsweyr loved sweets of all kind – especially moon sugar. Naturally, sweet foods were always incorporated into every meal. Ra'kiraya did her best to give the blonde child a balanced diet, but that didn't always work out; especially when J'fabil would be sneaking her sugary food before bedtime. In the end the pack gave up and let Elsa eat whatever they were having. It was easier than going out of their way to make Elsa Nord meals. It also made the girl feel like she belonged in their pack, instead of making her feel like an outsider.

Their breakfast was a short one, during it; Elsa read the many messages from her family. Most of them were frantic notes asking where she was and if she was doing well. After five or ten minutes, Elsa had finished and she decided to change.

A set of her Mage Robes, that she often wore, were sitting in the tent. They were probably cleaner than her current set of armor was. Quickly, Elsa began to undress, only to redress herself with the dark purple colored robes. They were far lighter than her traveling armor, and Elsa loved it. She felt free in these robes. Elsa quickly pulled her hair back in her typical low pony tail, just to keep it out of her face. The woman pulled forth a moonstone and sapphire circlet and rested it on her brow. After fixing her hair again, Elsa deemed herself nice enough to go and face the Greybeards... or at least Paarthurnax.

The blonde exited the tent, with Olaf right at her side. The war hound loved going with Elsa. It could be ten steps away, but he would follow her. The reason she had not brought him to stay with Maven Black-Briar was to not burden the woman. The two had not seen each other in almost two weeks now and it was depressing. Now he was very excited to see her and be with her again. Elsa didn't mind it one bit.

"Drem yol lok," called a voice from above her. Sitting perched on the word wall was a massive dragon. He had grey scales which shone against the sun. His eyes were a pale blue and he didn't look at all threatening. Instead he seemed kind, wise. His wings were folded to his sides but tears and rips could be seen in them. Had Elsa not known better, she would have sworn that he couldn't fly. However the dragon had proved that he still could do so.

"Drem yol lok, Paarthurnax," Elsa responded, with the traditional greetings of dragons. She bowed to her elder in a sign of respect. Having studied all the lore she could at High Hrothgar, she knew quite a bit about customs for the dragons. There were some things that Paarthurnax had taught her as well. The Ancient Nords may have recorded what they could about the dragons, but it was apparent they did not record everything. If they did, it was lost to time.

"I have been looking into your claim about the Dovahkiin. The Dragonborn." The old dragon told her from his perch.

This shocked Elsa. "And what did you find?"

"Nothing," the dragon told her simply. "However, Alduin has returned." Elsa's eyes widened. "I can feel him at work as we speak. The dov, the dragons flock to him as he calls them back. My brothers have already begun to attack the joor, the mortals." Despite Elsa's fluency in Dovahzul, Paarthurnax tended to switch between his language and Elsa's. "One has already gone very close to the home of the white city in the plains."

"Whiterun… It's gone to Whiterun?"

"Geh. Yes. A tower near the city." Paarthurnax replied in his low deep voice.

"Anna lived in Whiterun! She's a Companion! I have no doubt that she would run out to face a dragon." Elsa said quickly. "You could go check! Fly over and watch the fight… If there is a fight... Will the dragon come back?"

"We dovah are prideful. It was how we were made. I have no doubt he shall return." As he spoke, he moved from his perch. The dragon lifted up in the air, only to fly a few feet away and land in the snow. Moving so he could face Elsa, the dragon spoke again. "This is why, we shall fly. We shall observe the battle from the air. Should the dovahkiin live, we shall see it."

"Wait, what? We?" Elsa asked, Paarthurnax nodded to her. "You want me to fly... with you?" He nodded again. Elsa sighed but agreed. There was no fighting Master Paarthurnax anyway. "Let us hope they do not attack us."

Paarthurnax extended his neck to Elsa. The mage carefully moved forward and gripped the Dragon's massive horns. She had never flown before (though she supposed no human had). Carefully she situated herself at the top of the grey dragon's neck, gripping his horns tightly. Olaf whined at his master and started pawing at Paarthurnax's neck scales. He wanted to come, and Elsa wanted him to come, but there was no way that the hound could hold on.

"I'll be back soon enough, boy. Just wait for me." Olaf growled unhappily, but trotted back into the tent. No point in being in the cold if no one else was there… Not that the cold bothered Elsa. "Alright, I'm ready as I'll ever be."

Paarthurnax chuckled at Elsa and raised his wings high into the air. "Just don't scream." He told her before lifting off. The sudden lift off startled Elsa greatly but she managed not to scream.  
Flying was certainly one of those terrifying experiences that Elsa definitely wanted to do again. She could feel the wind whipping past her and her hair flying through the air. There was something freeing about flying. It was similar to riding a horse in that sense… except it was flying on a dragon. No matter, Elsa did love it. The experience was quite freeing. The woman threw her arms into the sky and let the wind pass by her. She let out an excited scream as they flew.

"This is amazing!" Elsa called out. "Master! How have we never done this before? Does it feel like this every time?"

"Geh, Od Vahdin." Paarthurnax replied to her. "Now hold tight!" Elsa obeyed and Paarthurnax rose higher into the air. The dragon flew up until he was just below the cloud cover. "I believe you have always wanted to know what a cloud feels like." The dragon spoke with a slight chuckle, remembering many of young Elsa's questions. While he only met her when she had turned twenty one, she still had a sort of child-like wonder about the world. Her desire to learn was strong. Since the death of her brother, she had lost the wonder in her blue eyes. The woman had become hardened and almost shut out to the world.

Elsa tentatively reached her left hand up to touch the fluffy white clouds above them. It disappeared into the white mass, only to be pulled out in shock. "It's water!" For years, Elsa had believed that clouds were large fluffy parts of air. With a laugh, Elsa brought her hands up to touch the clouds again. Once the general excitement about her new discovery had died down, Elsa brushed the cool water from her hands and resumes her grip on Paarthurnax.

Without warning, the dragon dove up through the clouds, covering the two in a small layer of water. The initial shock of the water had caused Elsa to yelp. That made the elderly dragon chuckle at her. The mage wiped the water off her face but afterward, she was greeted with a beautiful sight. The sun striking the clouds made them glow. They seemed even fluffier from above than they did from below. While Elsa couldn't see the land below, this sight was something even better than she expected. All she could see were the clouds. The air up where they were was… thinner almost. The young blonde definitely felt that it was harder to breathe. The longer they stayed above the clouds, the shorter Elsa's breath became. Once they started to be short gasps, Paarthurnax dove back through the clouds.

"Krosis," Paarthurnax told her. "I forget that you are joor and not dovah."

"I'm fine." Elsa gasped out, slowly regaining her breath. She coughed a few times but after a few minutes, she had returned to breathing normally. Once she was breathing steadily, the mage looked over the land and smiled.

The view from the sky was amazing. Elsa felt like she could see from Paarthurnax all the way across the Hold of Whiterun to the rocky mountains of The Reach, which lay on the western-most side of Skyrim. To the northwest, she could make out the marsh which made up Hjaalmarch, ruled by the Jarl who resided in Morthal. To the south was the deeply forested Hold of Falkreath, Jarl Hans' realm. Behind Elsa, to the east, would be Eastmarch, ruled by the traitorous Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak in Windhelm. Right now, the two were flying to the south of the City of Whiterun.

Below them, Elsa could see the town of Riverwood to her left and the trees that surrounded the little town. She could also see that she was above Bleak Falls Barrow. It was impossible to tell if there were people there, but she assumed not. Turning her head to the right Elsa could see Whiterun and the surrounding plains. She could see a group of people racing down the road with weapons raised. No doubt they were off to face the dragon that had appeared. What Nord would willingly pass up a chance to do battle with a dragon?

The dragon and mage pair flew along the mountain side, to avoid being caught in a fight. They were there to observe, not to fight. Paarthurnax landed on the mountain side. His grey scales were rather well hidden among the snowy terrain. The dragon lifted his mighty head so that he could peer over the tree line. Elsa sat and observed. The mage shifted slightly so that she was resting her forearms on the dragon's large head. Her body leaned on her arms and she was observing with the same intensity that the dragon was.

Soon enough a redheaded Companion could be seen entering the fray. Laaskuz was raised, poised to strike at any moment. With every snap of the blue dragon's mouth, or every lash from its tail, Elsa winced.

"Thuri dun hin sil ko Sovngarde!" The beast shouted at the mortals who were attacking. None of the Nords understood what he said, but Elsa and Paarthurnax did. The dragon's tail crushed a guard among the rocks of the stone watchtower. Using the Fire Breath shout, he burnt some poor guard to a crisp. The battle lasted quite a while. Even with the aid of some Companions (as both Farkas and Aela jumped at the chance to slay a dragon). Just as the dragon seemed to be taken down, Anna had charged to hit it with Laaskuz. A large brown head reared back with intention to snap Anna up in its jaws.

"No!" Elsa shouted. Her left hand extended out toward the battle. As she did that, a massive shard of ice shot up through the ground, impaling the dragon. Though, it was Anna who had delivered the killing blow by thrusting her blade up through the brown dragon's jaws and into its skull. Once Elsa realized what she did, she ducked behind Paarthurnax's head as if that would hide her more than the tree cover was.

"Od Vahdin." Paarthurnax called to her quietly. "Look to the battle." Elsa hesitated, but listened to her master. What she saw almost made her fall off Paarthurnax. Like Bleak Falls Barrow, Anna had found herself surrounded by a mysterious light. This one was not blue, it was multicolored. Elsa could detect some red and blue, perhaps yellow and orange. After a few seconds, it was done. All that was left of the dragon was its massive skeleton. The massive shard of ice could be seen sticking through the ribs of the skeleton. Thankfully most everyone was distracted with Anna and not concerned about the mysterious ice.

"Hold tight, Od Vahdin." Paarthurnax told her quietly. The mage hardly had time to grasp the situation because the mighty dragon had taken to the skies. Elsa barely managed to keep her hold on the dragon as he flew. Their trip to the Throat of the World was quiet. Elsa couldn't even be amused by the scenery. Her mind was simply replaying the scene of her ice piercing the dragon flesh. Dragon scales were recorded as the strongest materials in all of Skyrim. Yet her ice pierced through it. Never had Elsa been so strong, or so she thought.

The woman had been lost in her thoughts for so long, she didn't even noticed that she had landed until Olaf had knocked her off Paarthurnax's neck. The mage landed in the snow with a loud groan of discomfort. To make up for jumping on Elsa, Olaf licked her face multiple times until Elsa managed to push him off. She was laughing the whole time though. No matter how many times he knocked her off her feet, the blonde would always laugh and smile at his constant cheery attitude.

"Wait… Why are we down here?" Elsa had noticed that instead of being on the peak of the Throat of the World, they were down in the courtyard of the Greybeards. Surrounding the group were the four Nord Masters of the Voice. Even Marsh had come down from the top of the mountain. Arngeir must have brought them down, as he was the only one who could speak to anyone without killing them.

"It is true then, the Dragonborn has appeared?" One of the men asked. This was Arngeir. He, like the rest of the masters, was elderly and incredibly wise. He was also the only member of the Greybeards who could actually speak to anyone without killing them. Even a whisper from the other masters could kill a normal mortal.

"Not only that! Alduin has returned! The dragon at the scene of the battle said that his Overlord would devour their souls in Sovngarde!" Elsa exclaimed, looking up from her position in the snow. Crawling to her knees, Elsa looked up at the group of elderly men by her. Their faces were shocked at her declaration. The Masters of The Way knew quite well what the coming of Alduin would mean for this world. It was they who taught Elsa

"Is this true, Paarthurnax?" Arngeir asked him quietly.

"Geh." Paarthurnax replied in his deep rumbling voice. "We must summon her. It is our duty to guide the dovahkiin in the Way of the Voice. We shall guide the dovahkiin along the path of wisdom." All the masters nodded. They knew that it was important to guide the Dragonborn in the Way.

"Od Vahdin, it is best for you to go inside." Arngeir told Elsa after Paarthurnax spoke.

Sighing, the woman nodded. Despite all her years of studying at High Hrothgar, Elsa could not withstand the full unbridled voice of the Greybeards. Even a whisper from the other Masters would make her stumble over her feet. The mage was at the point where they could answer yes or no questions verbally and she would get a minor headache. Any more than a sentence and she was on the floor cringing. She used to pass out completely. After her second year of training, she was finally allowed to hear a whisper. She didn't wake up until two days later.

"C'mon Olaf," Elsa mumbled, patting her side. She used her other hand to lightly grip at his white mane. The woman led the two animals up to the massive stony and metal door. She pulled it open and both Marsh and Olaf moved inside. Elsa followed and closed the doors behind her. She made sure that the doors were sealed and then sat down on the floor. Both Olaf and Marsh took her silent advice and dropped to the ground. Clamping her hands over her ears, Elsa prepared herself for the inevitable shouting.

Moments later, the very foundation of the stony monastery shook. It could have been the entire mountain, Elsa didn't know. "DOVAHKIIN!" The masters of the Voice called. Despite her ears being covered, Elsa could still hear them quite well. Their voice was as clear and easily heard as thunder could be heard in a storm. No doubt all of Skyrim could hear them, probably the Province of Cyrodiil to the south, Morrowind to the east and maybe even Hammerfell to the west. The sheer power of the five Voices probably shook the grounds even out to Solitude itself! Elsa wouldn't have been surprised if her sister could feel the ground quake beneath her throne.

Being in close proximity to the Masters, while they were summoning, made the mage quite dizzy. Their combined voices thundered through her, shaking her very body. The sheer power that these masters held deeply affected her. Elsa slowly felt her vision fade to black and her back and head soon met the cool stone ground. As that happened, Elsa fell into a blissful state of unconsciousness.

Three days had passed since Elsa had fallen unconscious. When she finally awoke, it was to someone shouting. It was a female's voice. A very familiar female voice, if Elsa remembered correctly. Of course it could be a dream… except that if felt too real to be a dream. She also felt far too much pain for her to be in a dream.

Light blue eyes opened to examine where she was. They were met with a dark stone ceiling that was her temporary home. Under her was a hard stone bed, padded with furs. Groaning, Elsa turned on her side, only to be met with a massive pounding headache. The blonde pressed her head against her forehead and temples and cried out slightly. The sound was just enough to be met with a loud yelp. This was followed with a scratching of claws on stone. A wet tongue lapped at Elsa's hands happily. Clearly Olaf was happy to see her awake.

"Olaf, hush please." Elsa groaned, swatting at his muzzle. "You're being too loud." Almost instantly, Olaf ceased his affectionate licking. Instead he pressed his soft muzzle against Elsa's. The warm fuzzy fur was a comforting thing to the woman. Her hound's love and affection made her grin a little.

"Was that a dog?" A voice asked from what seemed to be the grand entry way.

"Yes, Dragonborn. He belongs to our young pupil." Master Angeir's voice cut through the stone walls. "They both must be awake now." Apparently Olaf had fallen with her earlier. If Olaf had fallen, Marsh probably did as well. Something in the back of Elsa's mind told her that the massive horse was already awake and probably running around in the courtyard. He was a very hardy thing.

Elsa slowly sat up, her raging headache still bothering her. The woman looked down, noting that she had been changed from her Mage Robes, into a set of the Greybeard robes. The black leather, lined with wolf pelts, was worn by the four masters. Once Elsa had mastered her very first shout, the Frost Breath, she was given a set of robes of her own. While she wasn't a fully-fledged Master like the men, it was a gift that marked her journey in understanding The Way of the Voice.

The woman ran her fingers through her hair and realized that it had been taken down. Next to the stone bed on the bedside table, was the blue ribbon that she used to tie her hair back. Pulling the thick blonde locks back, Elsa tied her hair in her customary ponytail. Her bangs hung down over her forehead though. The woman noted that her Circlet was resting on the bedside table as well. She pushed her bangs back, slipped her circlet of her head, and then she let her bangs fall forward again. The cool moonstone did little to ease her pain in her head, but it did something.

The mage pulled the large black hood up over her hair, letting her blonde lock fall over her left shoulder. "Alright Olaf, help me up, boy." Elsa whispered, afraid her voice would make her headache worse. The dog gently gripped one of her long black sleeves. With a firm tug, he helped Elsa into a standing position. He then moved to be at her left side. Elsa's hand rested against the dog's head and he supported her down a set of stone steps. There were only three of them, but it was three too many for Elsa. Next was just making it to the end of the hall. Elsa stumbled a few times here, but she was regaining her strength.

By the time Elsa had made it out to the entry way, the Greybeards were gathered, speaking quietly with a redheaded warrior woman. Angeir's voice was hushed and it seemed as if the other woman's was too. Their hushed tones were broken by Master Arngeir. He had noticed her arrival it seemed.

"I see you are awake, Od Vahdin." His voice was cheerful and sounded relieved.

"Zu'u fraan kras, In Arngeir." (I feel sick, Master Arngeir) Elsa replied in a weak and hoarse tone. Her head naturally switched over to Dovahzul. When tired, most of the time Elsa spoke like a normal Nord. But on a few occasions, such as this, she would speak in Dovahzul. She had done this once in Solitude, confusing everyone. Ra'kiraya decided to speak Ta'agra, the language of Elsweyr, just to confuse the poor woman. The Khajiit woman was a bit of a practical joker when it came to her cub, as most parents were.

"Zu'u fend kos faal Od Kulaas, ni Od Vahdin."( I should be the Snow Princess, not Snow Maiden. ) Elsa's free hand was still pressed against her forehead in an attempt to stop her headache. When she was tired, she tended to spew out nonsense such as this. The Greybeards all simply smiled and suppressed their laughter. The young woman brought humor to their solitary lives, it was rather refreshing. Her humor was rare now after her loss; but seeing even her sleepy rambling state was enough to make them chuckle silently.

A small chuckle sounded before Arngier replied. "Dragonborn, this is our young pupil. The Snow Maiden, Ma'elsa of the Khajiit Tribes." He purposely kept Elsa's title secret. Not that it mattered in this case.

"Elsa?" The voice asked.

Elsa looked up through her fingers to see the familiar teal eyes. "Drem Yol Lok, Dovahkiin." Elsa responded in the traditional dragon greeting. She greeted the woman by her title of Dragonborn, not as her name. Her voice was tired and pained.

"Elsa… It's me! It's Anna." The redhead all but shouted.

The sheer volume of Anna's voice made Elsa cringe painfully. A pained cry escaped her lips and she faltered. The woman would have fallen to the floor but thankfully Olaf had caught her. The hound growled at Anna threateningly, black eyes glaring at her. His expression told the group that he would have no problem going to harm her, should she try to approach his master.

"I see you've met." Arngeir stated, slightly surprised, but more so at Olaf's reaction to the woman and less about their previous meetings.

"We were in Helgen when that big black dragon attacked." Anna explained quietly, her gaze never leaving Elsa's crumpled form. "She left after I first learned the first word of Unrelenting Force…"

"Ah. I see that she never translated the word for you" Arngeir stated. His gaze traveled over to one of the masters, Wulfgar, who was approaching Elsa and Olaf. "She did have suspicions of you being the Dragonborn, though. No doubt it was her reasoning for riding to us so late."

"Really?" Anna asked loudly, as if in shock. Instantly she covered her lips when she caught Elsa cringe at the loud sounds. Anna didn't realize that the woman had ridden from Riverwood all the way to High Hrothgar in a matter of hours. Marsh clearly had some stamina.

"Yes. She rode back to High Hrothgar late Tirdas night." Arngeir explained to Anna. His voice was quiet, as to not hurt the woman anymore. The Master had hoped that Elsa would sleep through the Dragonborn's first few tests. Obviously that wasn't the case. Anna's practicing had seemingly awoken her. Though if it hadn't, Arngeir was convinced she would have been asleep for quite a few days. It was a slight miracle that she had lived in his mind.

"Wow… you all summoned me Middas afternoon. It's Loredas." Anna had taken two days to make the journey to the monastery. Of course she didn't get to leave until Fredas morning. By the time she had explained everything to Jarl Balgruuf and Kodlak, it was late. All of Middas night and for a good portion of Turdas morning, all the Companions were getting piss ass drunk. Anna was drunk all of Turdas and well into that night. Needless to say, Fredas she had a terrible hangover, but she still left with Joan. Once she made it to Ivarstead, she slept that night and then continued up the steps the next morning. She had even brought up supplies from the town below.

The fact that it was now Lorendas shocked Elsa. She was currently being helped to her feet by Master Wulfgar. During her initial training, he had been teaching her how to write Dragon Language properly. She spent many nights pouring over scrolls and ancient tomes just to get everything perfect.

"It's best you get more rest, Od Vahdin." Arngeir told Elsa one Master Wulfgar had helped her to her feet.

"Geh. Dii klov fiiz ful pogaas." (Yes. My head hurts so much.) The two turned to head back to the stony beds.

"Wait! I have a note from the Innkeeper in Ivarstead." Anna called softly so that she didn't hurt Elsa again. "Well… a few actually. I was told to give them to the Ice Princess at High Hrothgar. I didn't realize they meant the actual Princess of Skyrim I just thought that they were talking about a girl who could use ice magic and… I'll stop…" She looked awkwardly to Elsa, who nodded. Anna grinned and slowly approached Elsa. "Um… If you want, I can carry her for you. I've done it before." Master Wulfgar looked to Elsa, who shrugged. In the end, Anna gently scooped Elsa up into her arms, bridal style. It was much like she had done when Elsa had been too slow to get dinner back in Whiterun.

"When you have finished, Dragonborn, meet us out in the courtyard for your next test." The Greybeards all bowed to Anna before quietly walking off up a set of stairs. Olaf followed the four Masters. Anna followed them with her eyes and she watched them disappear through the metal and stone doors toward what was the Courtyard. Soon it was just the two women.

"So…" Anna started off. Her voice echoed through the stone monastery enough to make Elsa cringe in pain. "Sorry!" She whispered quickly when she felt Elsa flinch. "Um… Where is your bed?"

"West wing…" Elsa mumbled out. Thankfully she spoke in a language that Anna could actually understand… even if it was slightly slurred. She pressed her cheek against Anna's cool metal breastplate, trying to alleviate her headache. It did nothing for her, but she felt the comfort of another human being, so that was nice in some regards.

The companion shifted slightly, just to get a better grip on Elsa. Then she gently carried her back to the living quarters of High Hrothgar. Each of the steps Anna took was careful and surprisingly light. The clumsy nature that Elsa had observed earlier was gone and replaced with caution and concern. After a few moments, Elsa was gently lowered on to the fur padded stone bed.

"That doesn't look very comfortable…" Anna said quietly, referring to the bed.

"Neither does your armor." Elsa joked back. Anna smiled slightly and snorted. "I believe you had a message for me?"

"Oh right!"

Anna quickly dug through her pockets and pulled out a few sealed notes. Elsa took them and placed them on her lap. She examined each of them before finally opening one.

Cub,  
It pleases me to hear you are well. Ri'saad and his pack have told me of your fortunate meeting. He has visited. A tribe meeting is to be called in a Moon's time. Your attendance is of great importance. I wish you well in your travels. May your path lead you to warm sands.  
\- Ra'kiraya

Elsa smiled at her message. It was nice to hear from her mother like figure. A tribe meeting was quite rare and it would be exciting to see her entire tribe again. Meetings like this were quite big, especially for the Skyrim Tribe. Since the four packs were separated, news was often spread in passing, gathering them together would make for one long meeting. No doubt they would be together for at least a few days. Whatever was to happen, it must be incredibly important and most likely a cause for a celebration.

"Thank you for bringing this to me." Elsa told Anna as she reached for the second note.

"I- uh no problem, glad I can help!" Anna replied with a smile on her face. "So… you're a Greybeard? That's what your training is?"

"I'm not a Greybeard, but I've trained with them for nearly six years."

"Whoa!" Anna replied, shocked. She made sure to keep her voice down, as not to hurt Elsa's head. "You must know a lot of shouts!"

"I can only do five." Elsa responded with a slight laugh. "Not all of us are the Dragonborn and can learn a shout in a matter of seconds."

"Wait what?" Anna asked her, confused. "Not everyone can do it that fast?"

"Of course not, only the dragons and the Dragonborn can." Elsa explained, "The rest of us spend countless hours learning even one word."

"Oh…" Anna mumbled. She remained quiet and just stared at the floor. "I didn't know that…"

"No one expected you to." Elsa told her, "Now I think you have to meet the other masters out in the courtyard."

"Oh! You're right! I better go!" Anna exclaimed. "Yeah, gotta run, better leave… um… bye!" She waved to Elsa awkwardly before clumsily making her way through the stony corridors.  
Elsa smiled and gave Anna a tiny wave before she left. Once the blonde heard the massive metal and stone doors close, Elsa looked at the second letter. This one was from Elisif.

Ma'elsa,  
It took you long enough. You had me and Ra'kiraya worried sick about you! We were sure the Stormcloaks had gotten you! Then General Tullius told us you had been captured! Then the Dragon! I do not know how much of this I can take! I thought we had lost you! I haven't even finished grieving for Torygg! I can't start grieving for you too!

At least you're alive. I'm sure Ra'kiraya has told you about the Khajiit Tribe Meeting that will be taking place next month. We expect you back in Solitude for that. You are expected back here no later than the Seventh of Hearthfire. Also you will have to make a few formal appearances. Expect to be in Solitude for all of Hearthfire. You have your duty to your people. I will see you then.  
\- Elisif

When Elisif said no later than, she meant that Elsa would be doing something that day; sighing, the woman tossed the note aside and went to the last one. This was from Legate Rikke. The Princess only skimmed the letter, saying that she had gotten her message and good work; nothing special in Elsa's mind.

'Good work. Your family is proud of you.'

For some reason that phrase stuck in Elsa's head. The Legate had always been nice to her. She had served in the Legion almost all her life. She was even imprisoned with Ulfric Stormcloak in the Markarth incident. Instead of turning on the Empire, she stayed. If that wasn't loyalty, Elsa didn't know what was.

As she pondered, the stone doors of High Hrothgar opened again. The familiar scratching of claws on the stone sounded and moments later Olaf could be seen. The wolf dog raced to her side and nuzzled into his master's chest. Elsa smiled and lazily draped an arm over the dog.

"Good boy… I'm going back to sleep. Be good." The dog nodded to her and went to lie down at the foot of Elsa's bed. She smiled at the dog and seconds later she had fallen asleep.

The next time Elsa awoke, it wasn't from Shouting. This time it was from a small groan and the gentle flipping of pages. The groan was feminine that was for sure. Slowly Elsa's eyes opened. She was still in bed, her bed to be precise. The light was shining through the beautiful glass windows which surrounded the Monastery. It had to be midday or late afternoon for the light to be shining on that side of the building.

The woman slowly sat up, brushing the hair from her face. The thick fur lined leather hood of Elsa's Greybeard Robes fell off her head, revealing her bed head. The blue ribbon that usually held her hair back was barely hanging on to her hair. She quickly pulled it from her hair and began to use fingers to brush it back. After it was out of her face, she put it back up again. Finally she directed her attention to the other figure in the area.

Anna. She was still there…

"Anna?" Elsa asked, her voice was rough and scratchy.

The redhead looked up from the old tome she was reading. Her teal eyes lit up as she saw Elsa awake. She wasn't the only one who as happy to see Elsa awake. Olaf was with Anna too. Moments later he was by his master's side wagging his tail faster than a hummingbird could flap its wings.

"Glad to see you awake, Princess." Anna joked making sure her voice remained quiet.

"How long have I been asleep?" Because I really have to pee.

"Um… Just a day, it's Sundas." Anna explained to her. "Late Sundas though… About four in the afternoon."

"What are you doing here still?" Elsa would have thought that the Companion would have left for Jorrvaskr or something. "Don't you have to get back to Jorrvaskr?"

"Well I do… but I have a final test because I can be officially named Dragonborn or something." Anna told her. She closed the massive tome and placed it on top of a stone table next to her. "They wanted you to go with me so that they can ensure that I remain 'true to the way of the voice' or something like that." As Anna spoke, she waved her hands about in what seemed to be a mocking way.

"The Voice is a dangerous thing, Anna. Power corrupts and too much will-"

"Not you too!" Anna exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. Elsa winced slightly but Anna didn't notice. "I'm the Dragonborn! I'm supposed to be the most powerful being on Nirn right now!"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "You don't get it do you?" She placed her hands behind her back to support her while she sat up. Despite her long sleep, she still felt weak.

"No." Anna told her honestly. "I'm confused more than anything."

Elsa snorted. She should have anticipated that. "Well. If the Greybeards gave you all the power in they possessed, then you could abuse your natural born ability of the Voice to make others do things. Like I said before, power corrupts."

"But how does it do that? I wouldn't be bad or anything. I'm honorable! I'm a noble Companion!"

"Well take Ulfric Stormcloak, he learned Unrelenting Force, same as you are and he thought that with it, he could go off and be some all-powerful being. He's killed hundreds of people using it including my brother." Elsa explained to her. She had her arms crossed as she spoke. The memory of her brother made her angry. The young mage couldn't hold back a scowl as she spoke of the Jarl. "I'm sure he didn't want to become some sort of tyrant but after learning a skill so powerful that it could make others fear him and do as he pleases, no doubt he became corrupted with the power."

Anna grumbled out nonsense and crossed her arms. Her face was a scowl and her brows furrowed. She didn't seem too pleased with Elsa's example or her explanation. However she didn't argue. Instead she just sat in her chair and seethed. Neither female spoke for a few minutes. Both were sitting in their respective spots with arms crossed. Anna was glaring at Elsa and the mage was doing the same.

"So where are we going?" Elsa asked, trying to break the tension.

"Ustengrav, the burial place of Jurgen Windrunner or something to receive some horn and-" Anna replied as if she didn't really care. To her just sounded like another task that needed completing before she could go get drunk and Jorrvaskr.

"Jurgen Windcaller." Elsa remembered the man as the founder of the Greybeards. She had never been to his burial place before but she had read about it.

"I said that, pay attention." Anna told her. "Anyway, it's in Hjaalmarch so we could go leave tomorrow and get to Morthal and stay the night there then head up to Housten-grav on Tirdas. I think I've been there before, so it may be a quick and easy get in and get back sort of thing."

"Ustengrav," Elsa said, correcting Anna for the second time.

"That's what I said."

The blonde couldn't help but laugh at Anna. "Alright, whatever you say all mighty Dragonborn. Now get out of here. I need to relieve myself."

Instantly Anna's eyebrows raised and a lecherous grin formed on her face. "I can help with that if you'd like, High Princess Elsa." It was definitely clear that Anna was a Nord warrior. Even the females like to boast of their prowess in bed. No doubt bedding the High Princess of Skyrim would be a story for all of Jorrvaskr.

"Well if you would like urine all over yourself, feel free." Elsa retorted. She was slightly playful about it, but also serious sounding.

"Oh… I'll just… bye." It didn't take her long to rush out of the living quarters with a giggling Elsa behind her. Olaf quickly followed the strawberry blonde.

"I'm asleep for one day and I'm abandoned by my own dog…" Elsa grumbled as she stood up. She felt a little lightheaded but nothing she couldn't manage.

After relieving herself, Elsa made her way out to the courtyard where Olaf was playing with Anna. It looked like they were playing keep away or something. Even Marsh and what seemed to be Joan were playing with them.

The snow was lightly falling over them. Tiny flakes caught into Elsa's loosely put up hair as she observed the scene. Cheerful yells from Anna could be heard from all the way across the massive courtyard. Marsh was leaping around, avoiding Olaf. Joan seemed to be following him pretty closely. Finally Olaf managed to tackle Anna to the ground.

"Alright, I'm it!" Anna called to the three animals around her. The three scattered quickly before Anna could come after them. Anna just let them run though. Grinning, the redhead took a deep breath in and Shouted. "Wuld!" Anna raced across the courtyard and barely missed Marsh. "RATS!" She ended up falling face first into the snow when she missed the massive horse.

It was at this point that Elsa decided to speak up. "Nice try, Marsh is faster than the typical Skyrim horses!" She was leaning over a snow covered wall. Her elbows rested against the stone and she wore a playful grin on her face. Her hood was still down and her hair looked positively white.

"I can tell," Anna called back as she stood up. The woman brushed the snow from her face and hair while laughing at her own clumsiness. She then turned to face the blonde woman and smiled. "Glad to see that Master Elsa has come to grace me with her presence!" Anna even bowed in a ridiculous fashion just to humor the other woman. Clearly her frustration from their previous conversation had blown over.

Elsa laughed at that. "I am no Master." The woman called out joyfully. "But I will take that as a compliment!" Pushing off the stone wall, Elsa carefully made her way down a set of stone steps. Her leather covered feet could feel the snow crunch under her weight. As Elsa made her way toward Anna, Anna had started making her way to Elsa. After a few paces, Anna stood directly in front of the mage.

It was now when Elsa had noticed that Anna didn't have her armor on. Instead she wore a thick green tunic with a thick fur cap. She had dark brown trousers and leather boots. Finally Elsa was able to see that Anna was actually shorter than her. It was just by a few inches though. Her cheeks were slightly red, but Elsa attributed that to the chilly air.

"How are you feeling?" Anna asked. She held her arms up slightly just in case she needed to catch the blonde. She wasn't going to let Elsa pass out on her.

"Slightly lightheaded to be honest, but fine… I am hungry though…" Elsa replied to her.

After mentioning that she was lightheaded, Anna had slid an arm around the woman's waist. "Can't have you falling on me," she explained with a grin. "But food sounds good. I think the Greybeards said that they're getting low on supplies. That guy that brings it up from the village hasn't done it yet..."

"That's my job. I guess they didn't know I was sick…" Elsa mumbled out. Her eyes moved to glance at the tip of the mountainside. She had some supplies up in her tent; however there was no way she would dare make the journey up there though. "I guess we need to go down…" Elsa wasn't looking forward to going down to Ivarstead either. "Besides, if we leave tomorrow, Kocoum will have to deliver the supplies up here anyway."

"Who's that?" Anna asked her.

"Kocoum is a quiet fellow. He fishes and hunts for the village. He's the Bosmer and probably the greatest hunter in The Rift." Elsa explained.

"I bet Aela is better…' Anna mumbled out.

Elsa smiled and stifled a giggle at the Dragonborn's childishness but couldn't help but admire her loyalty to her shield-siblings. She whistled for Marsh and Olaf, who came running toward her.   
"Alright boys, get ready, it looks like we're making the trip down the mountain today. This time you're coming, Olaf." Olaf yipped happily and raced to the massive stone doors. Marsh followed his wolf dog companion and Joan took off after the two males.

"Shall we?" Anna asked as she led Elsa up the steps.

"I need to pack…" Elsa told her. There was no way she was leaving in a Greybeard Robe. That was never happening. It stayed at High Hrothgar.

"Ok, you pack and I'll meet you outside with everyone. Sounds good?"

"That works for me."

With that, Anna took the three animals through the Monastery and let Elsa do some packing. Twenty minutes later the blonde emerged in mage robes. They were blue and white and looked very nice on Elsa if the Companion could say so. She carried a large pack on her back.

"Marsh!" She called out to the massive steed. He came running toward her and turned so that Elsa could access his saddle bags. She quickly stored everything and then hopped up on Marsh. "Shall we?" Elsa asked Anna with a small grin.

"We shall."

The trip down the mountain was an easy one. Anna took care of most of their enemies by shouting at them. The Dragonborn was enjoying her new found power. She was shouting at any thing that came near them. Had Elsa's head not been hurting so much, she would have been laughing at Anna's enthusiasm. Like her, Elsa had shouted at everything when she first learned she could.

"Ooh! A Frostbite Spider, I've got this!" Before she could shout, Elsa had covered her mouth.

"Fus Ro Dah!" Elsa shouted at the Frostbite Spider, sending it flying off the edge of the mountain. After she shouted, Elsa gripped her head and groaned in pain. Her forehead pressed against Marsh's white mane as her fingers ran through her blonde mane.

"Divines! Are you alright, Elsa?" Anna moved Joan so that she was next to Elsa. Her hands carefully reached out to touch the mage but Elsa shook her away.

"No more shouting." Elsa decided quickly. Anna just nodded. She grabbed Laaskuz and readied herself for any battle. It was clear by Elsa's state that she wouldn't be fighting. So it was up to Olaf and Anna (and occasionally Joan) to save the day. Thankfully that was rather easy. Olaf managed to take care of any threat before Anna had arrived. Despite his playful attitude, the dog was a fierce protector.

Once they reached the bottom, Marsh took the lead and stopped right at the Inn. He had clearly seen Elsa incapacitated more than a few times to know where she needed to go. Olaf gently nudged Elsa to get off the large horse. It was Anna who managed to get the other woman off though. She carried Elsa in her arms with the blonde wrapped around her like a young child around her mother's front. Clearly she was still feeling ill from shouting.

Joan and Marsh were kept outside while Olaf was brought in with Elsa. The warmth of the Inn was nice compared to the cold mountain top where they had been. Anna gently placed Elsa at a table before walking up to the innkeeper to order some food for the two of them. Olaf waited obediently by Elsa's side.

While Anna was up, Elsa found herself approached by a muscular Bosmer. "Ma'elsa, what brings you down here to eat?" The man asked his voice low and gentle. The man took a seat next to her, with her back to the table. "And hello to you too, Olaf." The dog wagged his tail and yipped a few times happily at the newcomer.

"No food at the Monastery." Elsa responded quietly. Her hands pressed into her temples and she grumbled. Her words were coming out slightly slurred.

"I'll make sure to bring some up tomorrow." His tanned calloused hand reached down and began to pet the happy white wolf dog.

"Many thanks to you, Kocoum," Elsa responded not looking up to face him.

"It's no problem. I see you're leaving… Will you return for the Harvest's End festival?" How could she forget the Harvest's End Festival? It was one of the biggest celebrations in Skyrim. Drinks and food were free for the whole day. There were massive celebrations for a congratulations on a good harvest as well as preparations for the harsh winter ahead. Elsa always made an appearance to the festival. It was at the Greybeard's insistence that she go. After time, she found herself enjoying the festival.

"No. Ma'elsa will be gone until Frostfall. It is most unfortunate to be missing the Festivities of the Harvest's End."

"I see. Well it looks like we're having a pretty good harvest this year. Nakoma and I have had less luck in hunting though. You may be given a lot of fish this upcoming winter as we had better luck there."

"What about me?" Called another Bosmer woman, "Oh, Ma'elsa! Good to see you again!"

Finally Elsa picked her head up and looked to her two new companions. Kocoum and Nakoma were the Bosmer siblings. They were the hunters that provided Ivarstead with meat. Being Wood elves, they were well known for being good hunters. The two had picked up fishing upon arriving to Ivarstead. An old fisherman taught them how. After his death, they took over to provide fresh game for the village occupants.

Both Bosmer had black hair that was tied up and out of their face. Kocoum;s was longer while Nakoma barely had enough to put up. They both had war paint. It was a simple red stripe across over their eyes. Kocoum was a very muscular Bosmer while Nakoma looked less so. The woman still had muscular legs and arms, but she wasn't as impressive as her brother. Both wore fur armor that they probably crafted themselves. On their backs were their bows and quivers full of arrows.

"Fortune smiles upon this meeting, no?" Elsa asked the two quietly.

Nakoma grinned and took her seat on the other side of Elsa. "What brings my favorite fair haired furry friend down from High Hrothgar? Surely not the deliciously tempting young buck that we caught just this morning!" Her voice was light and cheerful, unlike her brothers low and mysterious voice.

If Elsa had Khajiit ears, they would have perked right up at the mention of a fresh buck. Meat was meat but fresh meat was the best. Up on the mountain, it was rare that she had fresh meat. Most of the time it was dried food. Her blue eyes glanced over to Anna who was at the counter speaking with Wilhelm. Part of her hoped that the woman was getting some of that fresh buck for her to shred.

"Watch yourself, Ice Princess; you're going to slobber all over your robes." Nakoma said while laughing slightly.

"Silly Bosmer and their jokes," Elsa replied while wiping her mouth. Her face was slightly red from the jest, but it faded quickly.

"So, Icy, tell us, is that woman with you?" Nakoma asked her with a grin.

"Sister, stop bothering the poor woman." Kocoum groaned while rolling his eyes. The man didn't often speak. When he did, it was usually to tell his sister to stop bothering other people. He was very reserved while his sister was outgoing.

"It is no trouble, Kocoum. Nakoma is very welcome to question such things." Elsa replied with a kind smile. "She is a Companion of Jorrvaskr."

The Bosmer siblings let out a low whistle of approval. They were clearly impressed. "I would not have guessed. Usually they wear armor…" Kocoum replied in a low tone.

"And carry a weapon bigger than they are." A new voice said, butting into the conversation.

"Pocahontas," Kocoum greeted, instantly standing up to offer the woman his seat. Pocahontas was a very tanned Nord woman. Unlike most Nord, she had long black hair and dark brown eyes. It was rumored that her mother was an Imperial. No one really knew as the woman had been dead for as long as they could remember. Kocoum also cared for her dearly.

"Thank you Kocoum." Pocahontas said, taking the seat next to Elsa. "So a Companion and our resident Ice Princess are headed off on a fabulous adventure?"

"Aye, Pocahontas that they are." Nakoma replied, her eyes still trained on Anna. "She looks a bit on the small side to be a Companion." Turning her head to face the group, she spoke again. "What is she, eighteen or something?"

"Nineteen." Anna growled she had walked up behind the Bosmer woman while she was in mid conversation. "Now if you three can excuse us so we can eat."

Nakoma rolled her eyes but stood up. "Come on, let's go get some mead and convince Lynly Star-Sung to coerce Rolfius into singing." Instantly Pocahontas and Nakoma ran off to the other side of the tavern to badger the lute-player. Rolfius was a new Imperial who came from a well off farming family. He, like Kocoum, also liked Pocahontas.

Anna watched the group for a moment, but then placed two wooden plates on the table. She took her seat next to Elsa and passed the plate of meat to her. "The Barkeep said that you would like this, so I got it for you." Anna mumbled to her.

Elsa looked down to see what smelled like fresh venison. Not only was there the meat, but also a sweet roll. "He was right." Elsa replied before taking a fork and knife and starting to eat. First she ate the venison, trying to act as proper as possible. When it came time to eat the sweet roll, Elsa had no shame whatsoever in using her fingers.

Anna couldn't help but smile at Elsa as she enjoyed the sweet roll. "Someone has a sweet tooth huh?" She asked with a slight laugh. Elsa nodded vigorously but continued her delicate munching on the sweet roll. "Me too," Anna replied, finishing up her meal. "How about tomorrow we buy some sweets in Morthal?"

"Sounds fabulous," Elsa said once she finished eating. "I think we should get some sleep though. Early morning and it's a long way to Morthal… even with horses."

"Agreed. I got us rooms while I was up there so um, yours is…" Anna paused to point out Elsa's room. "That one and mine is the one next to it."

Elsa nodded her thanks to the Companion and stood up to head off to her room. Despite having been asleep for a few days, she was completely exhausted. The second she hit the bed, Elsa was knocked out with Olaf asleep on her bed.


	7. The Vampire Lair

Morthal was a quiet town. It lacked any sort of appeal though. Part of Elsa wondered why anyone would choose to settle down in the marshy wasteland that was Morthal. Since most of Hjaalmarch was a wet marsh, the Khajiit caravans never bothered to stop in Morthal to sell their goods. The most Elsa had ever seen of the Hold was what she could view from across the Solitude Inlet. Now she knew that she really wasn't missing much. Yet here she was, standing in a swamp-like wasteland.

It was times like these when Elsa was incredibly thankful for Marsh. The massive horse seemed to have no problem maneuvering in the wetlands. Olaf seemed perfectly fine as well. The mud was sticking to his paws and legs but he didn’t seem to mind at all. Anna and Joan seemed to be fine as well. It was just Elsa who disliked the territory before her. She chalked this up to her Khajiit upbringing. After all, it took her almost a full year to become accustomed to bathing properly. That was a part of her life that she often did her best to forget.

"So this is Morthal…?" Elsa asked curiously as the horses moved through it. Many of the houses were built on the water surrounding the town. Well, they were built on large stilts over the water. It was rather ingenious to be honest; still unappealing, but brilliant to say the least. The Princess had to commend the inhabitant's for their smart thinking. However she was still confused as to why someone would even wish to live in a muddy swamp.

"You betcha!" Anna replied happily, she obviously didn’t share Elsa’s disgust for the city. She and Joan were leading the group right now. "It's quaint and quiet. Nothing ever happens here and that makes it kind of relaxing in a way… Except for that apparently," Anna pointed to her left with her brows furrowed.

Elsa followed the Companion's gaze to see what looked to be the remains of a charred house. The house stood rather close to what seemed to be the Jarl's Longhouse. The burn marks looked to be recent. The mage turned her head to look at Anna. Her nose was scrunched up and she wore a look of disgust. It was as if she smelled something foul. Elsa didn't question it though. Anna seemed to have a very good sense of smell.

A growl had sounded from Olaf as he had seemed to smell whatever Anna had spotted. Marsh's head turned away slightly and the massive beast did his best to put some distance between himself and the house. It seemed as if Elsa was the only one who couldn't catch this mysterious scent. However, judging by the look on Anna's face, she was thankful that she could not.

"You'd think with all this water, there wouldn't be many fires." Elsa muttered out almost sarcastically as she kept her eyes on the burned foundation. She had seen enough burns and caused many while learning how to properly contain Flames. Unlike her ice spells, any fire magic was very difficult for her.

"At least it wasn't the mill." Anna replied, her voice sounding more like a snarl and almost inhuman. Elsa noticed that her eyes were darting from place to place, determined to try and find  
something. As the two moves away from the town, it seemed as if Anna spotted what she was looking for. The Companion effortlessly leaped off of Joan's back and raced up a large wooden ramp to the top of the mill.

"ADAM!" Anna hollered out happily. A large man turned just in time to see the young companion racing toward him. He extended his arms to her and pulled the redhead into a fierce hug. From Elsa's position on her horse, the scene was rather adorable. After all it wasn't every day that Elsa saw the Companion practically jump up and hug someone with such ferocity.

"It's good to see you, cousin!" The large man laughed out as he effortlessly twirled the redhead in his arms.

"You too! Where's Belle?" Anna asked with a wolfish grin.

"She's working down at her shop. Just took on an apprentice who loves experimenting with supplies as much as she does." The man said while crossing his arms. He silently studied Anna, curious about something. Suddenly he noted Elsa's presence. "Anna, who have you brought to my marshy territory?"

"Ah! Adam, meet um..." She looked over to Elsa, trying to figure out how best to address her.

"Hail Companion, I am Elsa." The blonde clicked her tongue twice, prompting Marsh to move up to the edge of the mill. Once she was near to them, she slipped off her mount gracefully and moved forward to properly greet Adam. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Anna has told me about you."

"Only good things, I hope- wait!" Suddenly her named dawned upon the lumber worker. "You mean High Princess Elsa?"

"The same." Elsa replied simply. She pulled her mage's hood down to show off her trademark blonde hair. "I recognize you from the time of my Father."

A jovial laugh resounded from Adam, "aye! You were just a little tyke then! Look at you now, a grown woman and soon to be High Queen of Skyrim, divines be praised." The man sounded sincere about that.

"Thank you, but I have no intentions to take the throne."

"Maybe Ulfric Stormcloak will..." Anna piped up quietly. Both Elsa and Adam looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "What?" It was no secret that Elsa sided with the Imperials, given her upbringing. It seemed that Anna was shocked that Adam agreed with them too.

"What Stormcloak nonsense has Vignar placed in your head?" Adam asked almost condescendingly. "Has Kodlak done nothing to quell this nonsense?" His eyes burned angrily as he spoke of the Stormcloaks.

"It's not nonsense." Anna replied hotly. "But whatever, thats not the point. We're here because of far more pressing matters." She desperately wanted to drop the subject now.

"Yes, this is more important than any silly rebellion." Elsa added quickly, brushing her bangs off to the left side of her face. Using a small amount of her ice powers, she lightly froze them in place to prevent the hair from falling back in her face. Though given how muggy the marsh was, she would not be surprised to see them melt in a few hours time. "Do you have some place where we can speak quietly?"

"Oh, and we're going to be staying one or two nights so do you think the Inn can keep us?" Anna asked, now moving back toward Joan. Anna posed a good question. With all the Imperial soldiers about, she had no doubt that they would be occupying the inn.

"They would love it. The door never get used except for one of us who wants a drink." Adam replied. The man wandered off toward the side of the mill only to return a moment later with an ax in hand. "C'mon, the day is done anyway. First round of drinks is on me. You can tell me all about your little important mission. No one will be there anyway." Both women shrugged but agreed. After all, what Nord in their right mind would turn down free mead?

* * *

The three sat down at a table near the fire. The inn's layout was incredibly similar to the one in Riverwood and Ivarstead with tables along the wall with a large roaring fire pit through the center to keep the building warm. Off to one side, an Orc did his best to serenade the small group. They seemed to be doing their best to drown him out though.

"So Anna here is being sent on a task by the Greybeards to get this horn so that they can prove she's the Dragonborn?" Adam asked after he took a long swig of Honningbrew Mead. With Whiterun so close, the tavern seemed to only stock Honningbrew Mead instead of Elsa’s preferred drink.

"More or less. It's at Houstongrad-" Anna started off before Elsa cut in to correct her, again.  
"Ustengrav," Elsa corrected before turning back to her drink. Her head was aching and the Orc’s singing was not helping.

"Yes that, and I have to go find it. They want me to take Elsa because they trust her or something but I'm not taking her." Anna replied casually. She still didn’t completely understand the whole thing like Elsa did.

"Why can't you go, Princess?" Adam asked curiously, gaze focusing on the Princess for a moment. "And if she doesn't go, who will go in her place? Anna, you need a Shield-Sibling." Even though his Companion days were finished, he still would never go anywhere without a Shield-Sibling.

"Olaf." Elsa and Anna answered in sync. The two then took a sip of mead before Elsa took the time to expand on the statement. "I am quite ill. Trekking through some ancient burial mound would be the death of me. So I will be staying here while Anna and Olaf go off."

"Besides, Olaf is a great guard dog!" At the sound of his name, Olaf barked and wagged his tail happily.

Adam didn't seem to approve of his cousin going alone with just a dog. He didn't voice his disagreement. "Well fine. But if you aren't back by dark tomorrow, then I'm sending a search party after you."

“Hah! You underestimate the power of the mighty Dragonborn!” Anna roared loudly. The redhead raised her glass to the sky and grinned triumphantly. Moments later she took a large gulp of mead with bits of the liquid spilling down the sides of her mouth.

“You haven’t been confirmed to be the Dragonborn. Now could you please lower your voice. You’re giving me a headache.” Elsa snapped back quickly. She had been nursing her mug but the mead didn’t help make her feel any better. Her head was lowered and her bangs (which had unfrozen by now) were brushing against the table.

"Alright, Elsa, lets get you in bed." Anna said after wiping mead off her face.

Under normal circumstances, Elsa would have argued but sleep sounded nice. "I can do it myself. You have fun." She left the table and headed off to the small single room that she had rented with Olaf treading at her heels. Anna was sleeping in the room next to her. After a short walk, Elsa closed her door and soon fell into a restful sleep.

The two Companions watched the Princess disappear and the moment her door was shut, they turned back to each other.

"I assume you smelled the filth in the city." Adam growled out, pulling his mug of mead closer to him. His eyes flashed dangerously as he spoke.

"Aye. That scent is all over the marsh." Anna growled back. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck rise as she spoke. Not only was the scent of vampires about, but also the stench of burned flesh. Both smelled foul to her.

"Vampires. Reckon you haven't run into one since you received your gift, eh?"

"Never ran into one ever." Anna responded. "I got it about a week ago and I've been a bit busy for vampire hunting." She had been referring to her recent Dragonborn discovery.

"I suppose you wouldn't have. It was something the Circle did..." Adam replied thoughtfully. "No matter, you have now, and I know that they're planning something. We have to investigate."

"Then what are we waiting for, Shield-Brother?"

* * *

The next morning, Elsa awoke around midmorning. It was later than what she usually liked to sleep, but her body thanked her for the extra recovery time. It seemed as if she was getting much better. The soreness in her muscles seemed to have gone, but she still had not recovered fully.

Slowly Elsa got out of bed and began to change into a simple set of blue mage robes. Included in her robes was a large blue hood and she also wore her fur lined boots for extra warmth (not that she needed it, but it kept the water off her feet). Her hair ended up getting pulled back in a low ponytail and then hidden under her massive hood. All that could be seen of the blonde locks was a small strip that rested slightly off center on her forehead.

Once she deemed herself presentable, she left her room to go explore Morthal. She was rather curious about the burned house and wanted to find out more about it. Normally she would have gone to Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone but she did not wish to draw any attention to her being in Morthal (no matter how difficult it would be given that the old woman probably knew of her arrival already). Her best bet would be speaking to locals who didn’t know who she was.

Just as Elsa stepped out into the marshy land, she found herself running into a very muscular chest. The blonde stumbled backward into the door and nearly froze the person who ran into her. However she managed to save herself by looking up to see that she had accidentally hit Adam. Upon her realization, she was quite glad to not have frozen him.

“Good day, Adam. I trust you and Anna had a nice night of catching up?” Elsa told the man in a cheerful tone.

The burly Nord bowed his head in greeting and then spoke. “Aye, your highness. My wife wasn’t too pleased as we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning.” As he spoke, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Got a bit of trouble, but breakfast in bed and some flowers fixed it up nicely. But nevermind that, how do you plan to spend your day here in Morthal?”

Elsa shrugged a little. "To be honest, the burned house has me intrigued." Part of her wondered why none of the guards had investigated it. "Why haven't guard investigated it?"

"The guards are spread thin due to the war." Adam replied, putting his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "No one has looked into it... well, except me and Anna."

That interested Elsa. Anna had spent part of her time investigating? The Princess didn't think that a warrior would have been a good detective, as she seemed to like solving her problems with her iron fists. "You did?"

Adam nodded to her. He didn't answer immediately but he gestured for the blonde to follow him. Elsa did without hesitation. If Anna trusted this man, the saw no reason for her to distrust him. The two trekked down the steps of the inn and landed on the dock like structure that connected Morthal to solid land. From their position on the docks, Elsa could see the burned house a few paces to her right. It sat on a slight hill just behind a patch of water.

Without speaking, Adam lead her down the dock and right up the steps of the house. "No one in their right mind would look into this. This was the work of magic... Vampire Magic at that." The Nord man spat out.

"What makes you say that?" Elsa asked him defensively. Those who disliked magic were not ones Elsa felt comfortable around.

"Saw one." Adam replied. He pointed to a corner of the small one room house and began to explain his short adventure. "Anna and I came last night. There we saw the ghost of Helgi, Hroggar's daughter. She convinced Anna to play Hide and Seek because someone was looking for her." The man explained with his arms crossed.

"Where was she ghost hiding?" Elsa asked curiously. Playing hide and seek with a ghost sounded like something Anna would do. After all, the other day she was playing tag with two horses and a dog. It was cute though.

"Souls that haven't gone to Sovngarde can't stray too far from their bodies." Adam told her as he stepped through the ruins of the house. "I encountered a few of them during my time with the Companions. Cursed to stay with their bodies until they can be freed and sent off or unable to rest until their life mission is complete, whatever that may be."

Elsa followed after Adam as he left the ruined house. After climbing up the hill that the house rested on, Elsa spoke again. "So you found her where?" Not understanding what the miller said.

"With her body." Elsa peered behind Adam's large frame to see two coffins, one large and another small, half buried in the earth at the top of the hill. Next to the coffin was a woman who was laying face down in the snow. Blood covered the ground surrounding her.

"Who's that on the ground?"

"I think you mean what is that." Adam spat out as he glared at the figure. "That vile creature is a vampire. The first vampires were created by Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of Domination. Anna was given the honor of slaying this one." Elsa said nothing but looked at Adam cautiously. "This is where we stopped. We have a lead for the next part of the investigation but you should rest. It involves a lot of sneaking about. I can wait for Anna to return."

"Sounds like something I can manage easily then." Elsa replied quickly. "Divines know I'm quieter than Anna is." Sneaking about was child's play to a Khajiit raised woman. She had been taught to sneak from an early age. Sneak, Speechcraft and lockpicking were all valuable life skills to a Khajiit. These skills made her set up for a life as a thief, which was why the Thieves Guild took to her well whilst in Riften.

Adam didn't seem to particularly approve of Elsa getting involve but he couldn't entirely say no to Skyrim Royalty. "Well then. I guess we best check Alva's house. Hroggar is holed up there for now. If there is any information that Hroggar has, it will be there now..."

* * *

Elsa was skeptical about this plan of Adam's. It was almost night, meaning vampires would be out. The man had insisted that this was the best course of action. The two had planned all day. Part of Elsa hoped that Anna and Olaf would return soon. As much as Elsa didn't wish to think it... She missed Anna.

"Remember the plan?" Adam asked as they walked down the docks toward Alva's house.

"Get in, hide, get the information, get out." Elsa replied in a bored tone. "And above all, don't get caught." As the age old saying went, ‘do job first, get drunk second,' and Elsa planned to enjoy a nice mug of mead afterward.

"Whatever information you get, run straight to the Jarl." Adam added on. Elsa didn't want to see Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone but she knew there would be no avoiding it. The old crone probably knew that Elsa was in her hold. She was prone to having visions which gave her information. She was also very wise and knowledgeable. This was why the Imperials wished to keep Morthal under her command.

Elsa crept into position, just behind the door. After giving a nod, Adam knocked three times.  
“Hroggar, I need your help over at the mill!” He shouted. There was a minute or so before the door opened a crack.

“What do you need? I’m… busy.” The Nord asked, barely sticking his nose outside.

“We’re a little behind on a last-minute delivery. I’ll give you overtime pay and a bottle of mead if you help out.”

Elsa had to give Adam credit, he knew how to get the man’s attention. Alcohol and money seemed to be the way to the heart of most Nords. Nonetheless, Hroggar still paused before relenting.

“Yeah, alright, let me get my axe.” He replied before closing the door. Staying low, Elsa switched to the other side of the door and pressed herself against the wall. The moment that Hroggar opened the door and left enough of a gap, Elsa was inside the house with no one the wiser.

The door closed and soon Elsa was completely alone in the small house. The hard part was now over. The blonde let out a breath that she didn’t even realize that she was holding and then the search began.

Any information about what happened to Hroggar’s family would be kept hidden, so Elsa first looked in any drawers and rummaged through bedside tables. Uptop the single bed, Elsa did note there was a copy of Immortal Blood laying there.

“Vampires…” Elsa muttered before turning her searches elsewhere. It didn’t take her long to realize that there was no information up on the first floor. Her blue eyes travelled down to a stairwell which she had avoided until now. Now it was her only place left to look.

Carefully, Elsa padded down the steps and opened the door. She peeked her head inside to make sure that it was empty. Just like the rest of the house, this room was empty of people. The most interesting part of the room was a large wooden coffin inside.

Curiosity got the better of Elsa as she peered inside the wooden box. Inside there was a small leather bound book which seemed to be a journal. Without thinking, Elsa picked it up and flipped it open. As she read through the neat scrawl, the woman realized that this was the information she needed to give to the Jarl. It proved Hroggar’s innocence and this so called Alva’s crime.  
Instantly, Elsa raced up the steps and out of the house. Night had definitely fallen, But the torches that were held by the guard marked where the Jarl’s long house was. Elsa quickly raced across the boardwalk only to run right into an armored individual also racing into the town.  
The mage fell flat on her back with the wind knocked out of her. Moments later, something, or rather, some dog, started licking her face.

"Oh shoot! By the Divines, I'm sorry, Els!" A familiar voice called out. Not even a second later, Elsa felt someone slowly helping her to her feet.

Once the Princess found herself able to breathe again, she was able to open her eyes. Next to her stood Anna with a concerned look on her. On Elsa's other side was Olaf whose tail was wagging faster than a dragon's wings could flap.

"Well, hello to you two." Elsa replied with a small grin. "Took you long enough to get back." The Princess joked as she lightly nudged the armored woman with her elbow.

"Yeah well, we may have gotten lost a few times." Olaf quickly barked in what seemed to be an argument. "Well, I got lost. Olaf seemed to know exactly where he was going."

"He's a smart boy." Elsa replied with a confident grin. She then reached down to pat her companion on the head. As she did so, she noted that Olaf had picked up a book and seemed ready to hand it to her. "Oh, thanks. Must have dropped that." The blonde mumbled and she took it from her dog. She gave him a few scratched behind the ears before leafing through the book. All the evidence Elsa needed seemed to be in the journal, which was good.

"What do you have there?" Anna asked, peering over Elsa's shoulders.

The blonde quickly handed over the journal so that Anna could read it. "Adam asked me to help pick up where you two left off last night."

Anna nodded and returned the journal back to Elsa. "You better go take this to the Jarl. I'm going to tell Adam that I'm back." Elsa nodded and the two quickly split up. This time Olaf followed his master off to the Jarl's Longhouse.

* * *

"Good evening, Princess Elsa, I wondered when you would be visiting me." The young blonde woman grimaced as Jarl Ravencrone's voice sounded from across the entryway.

"Oh Princess Elsa! It's a pleasure to see you again!" A young woman called. Idgrod the Younger, the Jarl's daughter. She was quite gorgeous with big beautiful brown eyes and lovely dark hair. The two females often got along when in each other's company.

Idgrod came up to the princess and wrapped her into a friendly hug, which Elsa happily returned. The Jarl's daughter was the closest thing to a female friend that Elsa had. Though they were more like acquaintances if Elsa had to be honest.

"I apologize for my state of dress. Not very becoming of a Princess I suppose." Elsa responded after she broke the embrace.

"I would have to agree with that mi'lady. You look like a true mage though." Idgrod replied with a kind smile. At that, Elsa couldn’t help but blush slightly and look away. "How has your training been? Difficult I'm sure, but I'm sure you are doing fantastically as you always do. I remember always being impressed by your skills whenever I saw you."

"You give me far too much credit my friend." Elsa laughed. She was often asked to demonstrate her magical prowess when her father had guests over. It was like a party trick in a sense. Very simple little tricks with her magic, nothing to blatantly show how powerful she really was. "I am still in my training. I haven't even gone to the College yet." From off to the side, a snort could be heard. The Jarl’s Housecarl - he, like most people in Morthal, disapproved of magic.

"The College is daft not to accept you." Idgrod replied with a kind smile.

"Or perhaps smart to not allow a woman unable to control her abilities entrance." Elsa knew that she was powerful. Terrifyingly so. As a child she froze over Solitude on accident, now there was no telling what abilities that she had. "Besides, Winterhold is under Stormcloak control. I doubt I would be welcomed."

The young brunette sighed but had to agree with the Princess. "You're right, as always." She said gloomily. "But enough of that now. The guards said you has been her for a day already and then took a room in the Inn."

"I didn't want to bother you." Elsa said quickly.

"You didn't want us to know you were here." A new voice called out, interrupting the two younger women. It was the Jarl who was slouched in her throne. "You hoped that I would have no idea of your arrival."

Elsa looked to the stone floor as her face flushed. Frost slowly began to form around her fingertips and in the crevices between the stones on the floor. The Jarl was correct, of course. Nothing could get past old Ravencrone. She just always seemed to know everything. Perhaps it came with age.

"Now why are you here, Princess? You would not come to us willingly unless it was important. You, like your father, value your independence far too much." Despite being of higher status, as a Princess of Skyrim, this was not Elsa's court. She had been taught that she must play by other's rules in their courts. A lesson which her Father stressed on every trip. Perhaps he wished her to respect others in their homes or he just did not wish for her to grow up as a bratty Princess. Either way, the young mage did not assert her authority unless needed (like she had done in Balgruuf's court).

Reaching into her pockets, Elsa pulled out. The small leather bound book she had picked up earlier. "I'm traveling with a Companion and we stopped here for the night." Elsa explained as she passed the book to Idgrod the Younger, who passed it to her mother. "We noticed Hroggar's house and apparently last night she investigated it." The Jarl took the book from her daughter and cautiously opened it.

"This morning I finished the investigation and found this book in Alva's house. I believe it proves his innocence and confirms Alva's guilt." Three heads read the book alongside the Jarl. Her daughter, her housecarl and the Jarl's steward were also reading along. None could believe their eyes but it was the evidence that they were looking for.

“I believe Hroggar is currently acting as as Alva’s Thrall. I think it’s why he has been hiding in her house. He’s been protecting her as she sleeps.” Elsa told the group. She knew quite a bit about vampirism as her former mentor was a vampire. She had been in her father’s court as well as her brother’s court. Though that wasn’t entirely common knowledge.

“I can’t believe we have a vampire running loose! We must have her captured immediately!” Aslfur, the steward cried out.

“But wait, Da, it says that she’s working with The Master Vampire Movarth.” Idgrod the Younger said quickly as her eyes skimmed to book for more information. “We can’t launch a reckless assault on them, we’d die.”

“She’s right. We would need a small army to invade a vampire lair.” Elsa added quickly.

“All our guards are spread thin due to the war.” The Jarl replied quickly.

Elsa frowned at this. She should have expected it though. Every town through out Skyrim was short on guards. Every young man and woman had left their homes to take up arms to fight in the ridiculous rebellion that plagued the land.

The woman folded her arms and stood silently, trying to contemplate a plan. Suddenly it hit her. There were two Companions of Jorrvaskr in the town. If anyone could take down vampires, it would be the Companions. If the town could provide a few people as back up for Adam and Anna could easily take out the entire clan of vampires.

“The Companions.” The Princess said with a triumphant smile. “I’m traveling with one and you have a retired one here right now. If anyone can take out these vampires, it would be them.” And I think they would enjoy it… Though that was something Elsa kept to herself.

“Thats two people against an entire layer, Princess.” Aslfur deadpanned. “No offense your highness, but not even I am that confident in their abilities to kill them all.”

“Thats why we need back up. Just a few townsfolk to take on their thralls while they go after the vampires. I’m confident that they can handle it.” After all, the Dragonborn is among us.

“Will you be joining them, Princess?” The Jarl questioned. Her dark eyes locked with Elsa’s light blue ones almost like she was challenging the Princess.

“What sort of High Queen would I make if I didn’t lead my own troops into battle?” That was no the answer anyone expected, but it was a good one. The Jarl bowed her head and a small confident grin crossed her face. Soon Elsa was given the go ahead to gather what men and women she could to go and fight the vampires.

* * *

“This is the best we could do, Princess.” Idgrod said as she and Elsa stood on the steps of the Longhouse. Below was Belle, Adam’s beautiful wife (who was apparently skilled in alchemy). Next to her was Benor, a man who did odd jobs around the town and had expressed a desire to be a Guard. Apparently Anna got into a fist fight with the man to prove herself (and won). By him was Thonnir whose wife was the vampire that Anna had killed. Jorgen, one of Adam’s workers was also there. Even Falion, the wizard who no one liked, had joined the group.

Six people wasn’t the best turn out, but it was better than none, which Elsa thanked the divines for. Every person had a weapon, even Belle (which was something Elsa did not expect). No one had a shield which made Elsa slightly nervous, but there was only so much she could do. If needed, she could use her ice to shield anyone from any critical injuries.

“This is perfect, Idgrod.” Elsa said, lying through her teeth. “I have no doubt that we will be able to handle anything that gets thrown at us. Those Vampires won’t have a clue what hit them.” The people below cheered and gave their own versions of a war cry. “Now lets go show them who they’re messing with.” More cheers followed her small speech and the group raced off down the road to where the lair was with Olaf hot on their tails.

Elsa bounded down the steps and leaped onto Marsh’s back. “Let’s go boy.” The horse nodded his massive head and raced off.

It didn’t take the woman very long to catch up to the group and soon she overtook them. “I’m going to scout up ahead to make sure they aren’t waiting for us.” She told them, the group nodded and watch Elsa gallop ahead. This time Olaf was with her.

* * *

As Elsa drew near to the cave, two figures could be seen exiting it. Well, it was one figure walking while carrying a smaller second figure. Once they were at the mouth of the cave, the taller figure dropped the smaller one unceremoniously in the dirt path.

“Adam! What the hell?”

“Get dressed. You don’t want anyone to see you like this.” Adam replied with a cheeky grin. As he spoke, he pulled a pair of trousers over his body followed by some fur shoes.

“Who’s gonna come see me?” Anna replied as she sat up. Her first instinct was to check and make sure that Laaskuz was with her. Which it was.

“You’d be surprised.” Adam laughed out once he finished dressing, with his Wolf Armor included. “Anyway I’m headed back to the village with this.” He held up the decapitated heads of Movarth and Alva with a wolfish grin. To most people, it would be rather unsettling, but not to Anna. She just grinned back.

“Have fun!” Anna called to the man racing through the marsh. He seemed far too eager to get out of there. The redhead couldn’t blame him though, she smelled like bloodsuckers and it was disgusting. Groaning, Anna stood up and stretched out her sore limbs. She didn’t entirely care that she was naked for the world to see as she could easily Shout someone away if she needed to do so.

Finally she started digging through her pile of clothes to find her undergarments. She was able to find her underwear before the sound of hooves hitting the ground caught her attention. Ignoring her clothes, Anna reached for her blade and prepared for attack.

She knew that without the last word to Unrelenting Force, she wouldn’t be as effective if her target was farther away. So she waited a few seconds until the figure came into her eyesight. It was a small person on a horse, but Anna didn’t care. She still had adrenaline coursing through her veins and she was about to knock this person off their horse.

 _“FUS RO!”_ Anna screamed, using the Voice blessed upon her by the Gods. With it’s power, Anna easily caught the rider unaware and sent them flying off the horse. The horse reared up and retreated, leaving it’s rider stranded out in the marsh. After a moment of silence, Anna saw no movement. Curiously, she set out a little further into the marsh, only to fall into a trap.

The second Anna was a few paces away from the mouth of the cave, she heard movement to the side of her. The Companion spun on the balls of her feet only to come face to face with a hooded figure. Before she could ready her blade and get into stance, Anna was sent flying backwards and sliding through the dirt..

_“FUS RO DAH!”_

Suddenly Anna’s mind clicked. That voice was familiar. There was only one person that she knew that could use the full Shout for Unrelenting Force. The very person she heard about the Vampires from.

“Elsa?” Anna called out as she slowly rose to her hands and knees.

“Wait- Anna?” The voice called back. The Princess lowered her hood so that her attacked could see her bright blonde hair as if it was a fire in the darkness.

The Companion laughed and sat back on her knees. She had accidentally attacked Elsa on Marsh! The redhead didn’t know how she couldn’t tell that she had accidentally attacked Elsa but she did it.

As she was laughing her ass off, Elsa approached slowly, unsure if Anna was going to attack her again. Her own sword was drawn and her ice magic was crackling around her fingertips, begging to be released. Once she could see Anna, she realized that she was in no danger and she sheathed her weapon and cancelled her magic (though that was rather difficult to do as she was still on edge).

When she finally got a good look at the Companion, her face flushed considerably. Anna was completely naked except for a small strip of cloth covering her lower body. So needless to say Elsa got an eyeful of the Companions well toned abdominal muscles, arm muscles and her surprisingly full breasts.

Almost instantly, Elsa stumbled backwards. Unfortunately her boots caught onto the edge of her robes and she fell backwards onto the dirt covered ground. Her head hit the ground with an audible thump which sent her vision fading to black for a small moment. When her sight returned, Elsa saw Anna straddling her and shaking her slightly.

“A-Anna! I’m awake!” Elsa called out trying to shove the other woman away from her.

“Are you sure you’re OK Elsa? You hit your head pretty hard.”

“I’ll be better when you put some clothing on!” Elsa half shouted with her face covered in an attempt to stop staring at Anna’s well developed chest. When she did that, sheets of ice covered the ground along with a small blanket of snow.

There was a awkward moment of silence before Anna shifted slightly. Elsa thought it meant that the redhead was going to get off her. She was dead wrong.

Instead Anna pressed herself closer to the Princess. With the sudden shift of weight, Elsa also moved so that she was slightly sitting up on her elbows. She was planning on moving the Companion off of her but she couldn’t get the words out. Before she spoke, a pair of full lips gently pressed against her own and for once, Elsa had no idea what she should do. Her mind went blank, her eyes closed and their lips moved together.

To Elsa, Anna’s lips were like the rest of her body, firm and a bit rough. No doubt they were chapped because of the lovely Skyrim weather. Her hands carefully traced over Anna’s arm and back muscles before she gently wrapped her arms around Anna’s neck and pulling her closer into the kiss.

As this happened, Anna could feel something cool hitting her bare back. She knew it wasn’t rain, as she would have been able to hear it. Soon it came to her though. It was snow. But it was not the harsh snowstorms that Skyrim was known for, instead it felt… gentle, as if someone was controlling it. Whoever it was, they seemed content, and it was good.

Finally Anna found the strength to pull away. Elsa was still in a slight daze and the Companion couldn’t help but grin slightly. She thought it was cute.

“So…” She started quietly, “Can I do that again?”

“Only if you put your clothes back on.” Elsa replied with her arms crossed. Her face was still a tad bit pink from earlier.

As if she had super speed, Anna leaped off the Princess and began throwing on her clothing as fast as she could.

While she was busy doing that, Elsa got to her feet and noticed the flakes of snow falling. This was unlike anything she had seen. Usually her powers were destructive. Even her little party tricks, if Elsa lost control for a moment, she could injure a person. This was, strangely calm and peaceful. This was a side of her that even she hadn’t seen before… And for once, she was fine with her abilities.

“It’s pretty.” Anna said quietly as she walked back over to Elsa. “Just like you.”

“It’s just snow.” Elsa replied quietly as she looked up to the falling particles.

“I’ve always loved snow.” Anna told her, now standing next to her. She wrapped one arm around Elsa’s waist and pulled the woman closer to her. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think that you were the one making the snow.”

“Then you clearly don’t know better.” Elsa said with a small grin. She held up one hand and let forth a flurry of snow. It was nothing fancy, just one of her simple party tricks she had used over the years. Despite its simplicity, it never failed to wow the simplest of people.

“HOLY TALOS!” The Companion shouted excitedly. “That’s so cool!”

“Not really.” Elsa told her. “I’m just a mage.”

“A mage who has power over all snow and ice.” Anna told her. “That’s way cooler than being a werewolf. I mean- being a werewolf is pretty cool but I can’t control an entire element!”

“Wait- what?” Elsa asked, looking over to Anna in shock. “Werewolf?”

Realizing she was caught, Anna scratched the back of her head and grinned sheepishly. “Whoops. Forgot I wasn’t supposed to say that… Aela’s gonna kill me for telling. My bad… Um… Don’t worry! I won’t eat you or anything… I mean, unless you want me too… if you know what I mean.” Anna’s innocent grin turned into a sly devious one. She also licked her lips just to make the situation even worse.

Elsa’s blush came right back and without hesitating, she shot a mound of snow in the Companion’s direction. The massive pile snow caught Anna by surprise and within moments she was caught under it and flailing for help.

“I’m sorry! I surrender!” Anna shouted from under the snow. “Now help me out! It’s cold!”

“You can get out by yourself. I’m going to tell the Jarl that Adam killed the vampires.” Elsa replied. “And maybe if you’re a good dog, I’ll give you some credit too.” She shot the Companion a playful wink before vanishing. _“WULD NAH KEST!"_

Anna quickly got out of the snow and chased after her. _“WULD!”_ The Dragonborn screamed as she gave chase to her High Princess of Skyrim.


	8. The Harvest's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elsa and Anna are pretty much drunk the entire time.

27th of Last Seed 4E 201 - Middas - Harvest’s End

The next morning Elsa woke up at the Morthal Inn rather sore from her accidental battle yesterday. Clearly being thrown off a horse thanks to the Dragonborn’s Voice didn’t do her any favors when it came to recovering from the summoning of the Dragonborn not even a week before. The woman slowly sat up and let her eyes adjust to being awake.

The first thing Elsa noticed was that her hair was a skeever’s nest. She couldn’t even run her fingers through her hair without getting them caught in it. That was the struggle of having thick hair though.

Frowning she used her abilities to cover part of the wall with ice so that she could use it as a mirror to get ready. Just as she was combing out her hair with her hands, she noticed a figure in a green tunic lying on the floor. The mage turned around and looked down to see Anna curled up on the floor with Olaf. Both were completely knocked out, but Anna didn’t seem to be sleeping very well though. The redhead was tossing and turning in her sleep.

Elsa decided to let the two sleep and finish her hair at least before waking them, so she did just that. It took her a considerable amount of time to get all the kinks worked out of her hair. Knowing that she wasn’t very skilled at doing her hair, she just left it in a low ponytail. Using her abilities, she froze her bangs back against her head (except for a small sliver of hair that seemed to defy all logic).

Finally she looked presentable enough. She still didn’t want to wake Anna just yet, so she used her skills in stealth to get to her bag and pull out her mage robes. Instead of the blue ones she wore the day before, these were robes that signified that she was a master. They were enchanted to boost her magicka recovery time and this set was specifically used to aid in use of destruction magic. Her skills with ice magic fell under the destruction school of magic so these robes increased her abilities more than one would expect.

Elsa managed to get her robes on as Anna stirred from her restless sleep. At this point, Elsa was adjusting her hood and putting it over her hair. “Good morning.” The Princess greeted her friend and now lover? That was a bit of a grey area at the moment.

“Morning to you too.” Anna replied sitting up and stretching out her arms. Judging by the look on her face, she did not seem to have slept well on the stone floor. When she stopped stretching, Anna noticed that Elsa didn’t have her boots on. “Aren’t your feet cold?”

Elsa looked down at the Companion and shrugged. “No.” She told her before looking back to her makeshift mirror to check her appearance. She frowned slightly, knowing that she was missing something, but just could not place it. “Now what am I- Ah, right!” She quickly dove back into her bag and pulled out a sapphire and silver enchanted circlet. It was specifically enchanted to increase her magicka. Elsa quickly put it on under her hood and nodded with satisfaction. “Much better.” Finally Elsa grabbed her fur lined boots and quickly pulled them over her feet. While the cold didn’t bother her, mud and grime did, for this reason, she wore boots.

“You are lucky the cold doesn’t hinder you.” Anna muttered, clearly jealous.

“And you are lucky you can learn a shout in second while it took me years to get them down.” Elsa fired back with a silly grin as she started applying some lipstick and eye powder. Though she had to admit, she would love to be able to learn shouts faster than she could. Even though her masters said that she picked up The Way far faster than most of their pupils, she wished she could do it as easily as Anna. “I have my strengths and you have yours.”

“Yours are just cooler.” Anna replied with a pout. It reminded Elsa of a little puppy in all honesty. Obviously traits of being a werewolf carried over to human forms.

“I beg to differ almighty Dragonborn.” Elsa laughed. “But that doesn’t matter. I think we have to get back to Riverwood to get the horn for Master Arngeir.” After Their kissing adventure on the outskirts of town, Anna had informed Elsa that the horn had been taken by a person and all she had was a strange note telling her to come to Riverwood and rent the attic room.

“But of course, Master Elsa. But let me dress first and we can be off.” The Dragonborn said rising from her makeshift bed and gathering her armor. “With any luck we can make it there before it’s too late.”

Elsa nodded but said nothing and quickly got to her feet. She took two steps for the door before she felt Anna’s hand grab at her arm. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled into Anna’s awaiting arms where she was greeted with a smile and a firm kiss to her lips. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was long enough to put Elsa into a slight daze.

“I had to get my Good Morning Kiss.” Anna told her with her wolfish grin on her face.

Elsa didn’t have a witty comeback this time. Instead she just nodded and slowly left the small room with a flushed face. Even though the two women had spent the better portion of last night cuddling and kissing (or learning how to kiss in Elsa’s case), the simplest good morning kiss was still enough to put her into a daze.

It was a very good night… Elsa thought with a grin. Her furious blush had died down but her cheeks still had a slightly rosy color to them. It would have been better if she decided not to be so damn chivalrous and sleep on the floor. Though as much as Elsa would have enjoy waking up in her arms again, she admired Anna’s attempt to be courteous to her. Not many of the men in her sister-in-law’s court were as kind as Anna was.

The Princess purchased a sweetroll from the innkeeper as her breakfast and then sat down at a table near the fire. Using an empty tankard, Elsa filled it with snow, used flames to heat the tankard to make the snow melt, then chilled the glass all so she could drink a cool glass of water. It was a lot of work but at least she knew where this water came from. Besides, it was too early to hit the mead… as much as she wouldn’t mind the honey flavored drink.

Elsa didn’t wait long for Anna to appear. The High Princess had to give the Companion some credit, she could dress fast. She could also undress fast when she wanted too apparently, though Elsa had yet to see that. Whenever she helped Anna, she was always clumsy with her armor. Whenever Elsa wasn’t around, Anna was pretty skilled at doing everything by herself. It didn’t make sense to the blonde but she dared not question it.

“Did you eat yet, your Highness?” Anna asked jokingly as she ate a sweet roll. Sweetrolls were one of the best things that anyone in Skyrim could eat. They were known for being stolen and frequently guards get complaints about people stealing sweetrolls. This has happened so much that in passing they often joke and ask if “someone stole your sweetroll.”

“I had a sweet roll.” Elsa replied holding up her half eaten pastry. “And if you steal it, I swear to Stendarr I will murder you and spread you body parts all over Skyrim so no one can find you.” One did not simply steal the sweetroll from High Princess Elsa.

“I’ll make a mental not to never do that, but I will send my enemies after your sweet rolls just so you can take care of them for me.” Anna joked out as she took a seat and bit into her icing covered goodness. “Perhaps we can just send the Thalmor on a ridiculous task of emptying the Blue Palace of Sweet Rolls just so you can go on a murderous rampage and we can be rid of them for good.”

“I’ll bring that up to General Tullius as soon as I arrive back in Solitude.” Elsa replied sarcastically.

“It was worth a shot.” Anna said shrugging. “Though I would love to see that fight.”

“Finish your breakfast, Dovahkiin. We have business to attend to.”

“Ouch, she used the title.” That earned Anna a quick smack to her head.

* * *

Riding back to Riverwood was rather boring. To play it safe, the duo stayed toward the western end of Morthal which brought them down closer to The Reach. While the Reach was dangerous, Stormcloaks were more so at this point in time. The infamous Forsworn seemed to not even dare touch the High Princess. A small group nearly attacked the two but when someone screamed that it was Princess Elsa, they raced for the hills.

“Why don’t the Forsworn attack you?” Anna asked after the group ran screaming. “They attack any and all Nords.” When the Nordic people first came to Skyrim, they had conquered the City of Markarth where the Reachmen lived (which is now the capital city of The Reach Hold). Twenty years ago, the Reachmen briefly succeeded and taking the city during the great war, only to be killed or captured when the Legion came to clear them out. Since then they had been known as the Forsworn.

Elsa shrugged. “They respect my powers?” In all reality, Elsa had no idea why the Forsworn didn’t dare attack her. Even as a child when her family was attacked on the way to Markarth, the Reach’s hold capital, they refused to even touch her. Elsa hardly could recall the incident but apparently the Forsworn knew what she was capable of.

“Have you even met Forsworn?” Anna asked curiously.

“I- I only remember it once, but even then they didn’t come near me… They… feared me.” Elsa told her as she tried to bring up the distant memory of the attack. “I don’t remember much but the Legate Rikke and her detachment of legionnaires were there with me and my father and brother. She was yelling something at them like ‘Frozen Silver!’ or something and pointed at our carriage. After that they booked it.” None of the words made any sense to Elsa, but they stood out to her somehow.

“Frozen Silver?” Anna questioned, “Sounds like a code name for something.”

“It really does.” Elsa said back. “The legion uses codes all the time, but I can’t expect the Forsworn to know them…” Though Elsa would admit the legion did occasionally have questionable contacts, like Maven Black-Briar who associated with the Thieves Guild. She wouldn’t be too surprised if one of their contacts associated with the Forsworn.

“Who’s Legate Rikke?”

Elsa laughed at the question. “The Legate has been a Legionnaire for many years. She worked with Ulfric Stormcloak when they cleared the Forsworn out of Markarth almost twenty years ago.”

“Wait… Weren’t all those Stormcloaks thrown in Cidhna Mine with all the surviving Forsworn because they were worshipping Talos?” The Companion fired back. She was full of questions today. “Wait, yeah! I remember Jarl Ulfric is still livid about that. And then when he and his army came back to Windhelm, he was made Jarl and he apparently brought back his daughter who was killed later by the Imperials. My Da was in Cidhna Mine with him.”

“He had a kid?” Elsa asked, astonished by this bit of information. “In a prison?!”

“Duh, I thought everyone knew.” Anna said to her. “Everyone in Eastmarch knows that his daughter was killed by Imperials during a Stormcloak ambush. They say she was a sickly child, small with pale skin like a vampire but she had the brightest blue eyes. No one knows a lot about her but apparently she was in Cidhna Mine with him. I guess living in a mine prison as a child would make someone pretty sickly. I would hate to work in that mine, because of the silver and all…” Soon Anna broke off on a tangent and started talking about something that Elsa didn’t care about.

“How do you know all this?”

“My Da told my Ma. Da was in Cidhna Mine with them. The Thalmor were killing people left and right, even kids so the somehow snuck her in and hid her in the mine. Apparently even the Forsworn helped and it was the only time they ever got along.”

Elsa’s mind was still on Ulfric Stormcloak. The man who murdered her brother in cold blood. Elsa knew that neither saw eye to eye, but this was puzzling. According to Elisif, the two were fighting over something that Torygg didn’t even share with her. All Elisif, and now Elsa, knew was that it was entirely secretive that made Ulfric hold a grudge against her family. For the longest time they thought Ulfric was power hungry and wanted the throne. Now Elsa wondered if her father and brother had anything to do with the slaughtering of his sickly child. Unfortunately with both of them dead, there was no way to know.

“Hurry up Elsa! I can see Rorikstead up ahead! Maybe we can have some lunch with Phillip and his wife!” Anna called out. The Dragonborn coaxed Joan into a gallop and she sped away toward the farming community.

Elsa shook her head and cleared her thoughts and she joined Anna, racing off to get to the farming community.

* * *

Phillip was very different than Adam. While Adam had more animalistic traits, Phillip was refined and clearly been educated on proper mannerisms. While he and Adam were both warriors, Phillip had a sort of discipline which only came from being a guard or in the legion. He knew exactly who Elsa was once they two had dismounted and greeted her as respectfully as possible.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. Welcome to Rorikstead. May I show you to the inn to see Rorik himself?” The man had completely ignored Anna and focused on the Princess, as per his training.

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you for your kind offer.” Elsa replied with a kind smile. She couldn’t help but be slightly amused at Anna’s frustrated face. She clearly wasn’t used to being ignored by her cousin, and she did not seem amused at all. “Anna and I simply stopped for food and drinks. We thought our mounts could use the rest and I do enjoy visiting my people and seeing how they are faring.”

“We do well enough here, Highness. You are too kind. I wish we had known of your coming so we could have prepared something fit for a woman of your status.” Phillip told her, the guild seeping into his voice for being so under prepared.

“Don’t worry about it Phillip, Elsa likes to be treated like a normal person. She gets all that fancy pants pampering back in Solitude.” Anna replied frustratedly, wanting her cousin to at least pay some attention to her.

Instantly Phillip went red in the face with anger. “Anna! Have you no manners?”

“She has them, but only when she desperately needs them.” Elsa replied as she tried to hide a giggle behind her hands. The red-faced man was glaring daggers down at her equally red-faced and angry cousin.

“Phillip, dear, can you help me with the grain?” A light cheery voice called from over in one of the farms.

The group of three turned to see a woman with honey colored hair and a well worn blue dress. With the bit of information that Elsa had about Anna’s family, she assumed that this was Phillip’s wife. She was a beautiful young lady, behind all the dirt from farm work.

“Aurora!” Anna yelled happily. The redhead races up the path and easily cleared the fence on her way to engulf her cousin-in-law in a bear hug (or wolf hug in this case).

The older woman squealed happily but also shouted at the young companion to put her down instantly. She gave a couple of hits to Anna’s armor but it proved to be useless. After a moment all the yelling was hurting Anna’s poor ears, so she released the other woman. As all this went on, Elsa and Phillip carefully approached the scene, not wanting to be hit by Anna spinning Aurora.

“Is this little Anna?” The older woman asked in shock. The companion simply nodded. “Oh how you’ve grown!” She exclaimed, now taking a step back to look at Anna fully. “You were so small when we saw you at the wedding with Adam! That was six years ago! Now look at you in the armor of the Companions! Oh you’ve come so far since being Eorlund- right? His apprentice?”

 _Wait till she realizes that Anna is the Dragonborn._ Elsa through with a slight grin on her face. “Dear, you can catch up with Anna later, we have more important matters to attend to.” Phillip told his wife kindly.

“I have not seen your sweet cousin, who practically is your sister in six years! I highly doubt anything is more important than this, Phillip!” Aurora snapped at her husband. Both Elsa and Anna snickered on the sidelines.

“Yes well the High Princess of Skyrim is here and you haven’t seen her ever so-”

“Oh my! This is Princess Elsa!” The woman grabbed Elsa’s wrist and dragged her toward her so that she could see her better. She placed Elsa next to Anna and then stepped back and tapped her chin a few times. “I’m not sure how you managed to land a Princess, Anna, but I’d keep her if I were you.”

“What!?” Both Phillip and Anna shouted, with Elsa just looking even more confused by the second.

“How did you know?” Anna all but yelled at the woman.

“Her lipstick is smeared slightly and there is some on your lips.” Aurora replied simply. “I know you don’t wear makeup and a woman of Princess Elsa’s class wouldn’t go out in public with smeared lipstick. So, you two were kissing on the way here.”

Anna and Elsa looked at each other silently. Both wore impressed looks on their face. After staring at each other for a moment, it was Anna who spoke.

“Oh hey, your lipstick is smeared a bit. My bad, I didn’t notice…”

“Can I bring your cousin and his wife to Solitude with me?” Elsa asked, “I want your cousin to be our new Captain of the Guard and his wife to be my steward or advisor, or something where she can do that to people I don’t want to talk to.”

“You want her to be the Official Solitude Back Talker?”

“That’s not a thing, Anna.”

“It totally is.” Almost instantly this started a tiny argument between the two about the Official Solitude Back Talker and whether or not it was legit.

“Sorry to interrupt your lover’s quarrel, but I believe I interrupted something when I called you over.”

That made the girls stop mid argument and look back to the other two. “Oh yeah.” Almost instantly their playful bantering subsided and Elsa took on a far more regal attitude.

“Well we were passing through and wished to extend an invitation to-”

“She wants to know if you’ll come eat lunch with us at the tavern.” Anna interrupted impatiently. Seeing Elsa talk like a royal was a bit strange to her and to be honest, Anna didn’t like it.

Elsa turned to scold Anna but the innocent smile on the Companion’s face made her stop. “Yes, what she said.”

“Lunch with a Princess, I think we can take a break from moving this grain. After all, everyone seems to be wrapping up for tonight’s festival!” Aurora replied happily. She took her husband’s hand and slowly lead him toward the tavern. “Will you two be staying for the night’s festivities?”

Both Anna and Elsa looked at each other. Both were confused but moments later it dawned on Elsa. Today was Harvest’s End! Every farming community would be celebrating today. No doubt Whiterun would be full of celebration, even Riverwood may be celebrating.

“Unfortunately no, we have important matters to attend to back in Riverwood.” Elsa said sadly, for she loved celebrations. Perhaps if they finished their tasks in Riverwood, Elsa could convince Anna to race to Whiterun for the celebrations in the big city.

“No matter, come and enjoy a nice meal! They’re offering free drinks all day!” Aurora called out happily and she gracefully made her way up to the wooden tavern.

Neither Elsa or Anna could ignore free drinks so they raced up to follow Aurora to have a grand lunch and quite a few bottles of mead.

* * *

Three hours later, Both Elsa and Anna decided that having a drinking match against the farmers of Rorikstead was not their smartest idea. Originally Elsa had not been wanting to get involved. It was after Anna said it would be a good way to get the people to like her, did the Princess finally give in. Five bottles later, Elsa was too drunk to realize she had made a horrible mistake.

Thankfully they were almost to Riverwood. They two had been riding hard from Rorikstead and were now just at the bridge which lead them into the little forested town. Just like Elsa had predicted, they too were setting up for their own small celebration. While Riverwood was a lumber and fishing town, every house had a small garden. Besides, Nords loved celebrating. Any excuse was a good enough one for celebration.

“Thank Talosh we made it.” Anna grumbled out, still slightly disoriented. “Thought I wush gonna fall of mah horse!”

“I thinks we may need to shleep this off.” Elsa replied, also slightly inebriated.

“Or drink it off!”

“Yea-ah.” Spoken like any true Nord. Dismounting from Marsh and Joan was rather difficult, but somehow the two managed without killing themselves. Thankfully Olaf was there to help Elsa when she needed it. There was a little stumbling afterward but other than that, the two were alright and in one piece.

The two raced up the steps of the taverns, stumbling only slightly (and laughing at the other) before pushing the door open. Inside, a good portion of the patrons were drunk off their asses, laughing and singing wildly. The older blonde innkeeper was smacking most of the men around with her broom to keep them from falling into the fire that was at the center of the room.

Finally the blonde made her way over to the two Nord woman, who were just about to get a bottle of mead. “So you’re those visitors been poking around…” She asked them, before they could order at the bar.

“Yesh!” Anna replied with a chipper grin. “We gots orders here to rent out your attic room.” She held up the note that she took from the old burial grounds and slapped it into the woman’s hands.

The woman glanced at the note for a moment before crumpling it in her hands. “Well, we don’t have an attic room. But you can have that one over there… and sleep off your drunken state.” Anna paid the woman and she quickly shoved both of them in the room before closing the door behind them.

“Well that washnt nishe” Anna managed out as she began to sloppily remove her armor. The metal clanged as it hit the ground and made the two girls groan.

“Nu-uh. Lesh shleep.” Anna didn’t argue with that, within moment she and Elsa were curled up in the tiny single bed and completely dead to the world.

Not even two hours later, Anna was the first to wake up. She was still a little drunk, but more coherent than usual. The reason she woke up was because the innkeeper had come into their room with two mugs of what she guessed was water. “Elsa, wake up!” Anna whispered.

“Dunwanna.” Elsa groaned out, burying her face in Anna’s hair. “Still drunk.”

“So am I but we have company.” At that, Elsa woke up and her eyes locked onto the innkeeper. The woman offered the drunks which both women took thankfully. It definitely helped them clear their heads.

“So which one of you is the Dragonborn.” Well that sobered them up real fast.

The two looked to each other, then to the innkeeper and then back to each other again. Anna had no idea what to say in this situation. Elsa had no intention of telling this woman anything. So, neither woman spoke. Instead the three women stood in the room silently.

“Well one of you is Dragonborn. And I’m going to guess it ain’t you Princess.” The Innkeeper said quickly. “If you were Dragonborn, we would have learned at least five years ago, when you first went up to High Hrothgar.” Elsa’s face was one of shock. Very few people knew of her training with the Masters of the Voice. It was mostly the Jarls. Before she could question the woman about how she got her information, the innkeeper spoke. “When you have connections with that idiot Farengar, you tend to hear people talk when visiting Dragonsreach. Up until now, he’s been obsessed with your abilities and has no doubt that you are the strongest person on Nirn. Now that we have a Dragonborn, I’m not too sure about it.” She ended her statement with a smug look that was practically begging to be frozen in a block of ice.

“Alright you got me.” Anna said quickly, trying to break the tension. “I’m Dragonborn, what’s it to you?”

The woman pulled out a war horn and handed it over to Anna. “I think you’re looking for this.”

Anna took the horn and inspected it. “So this is-”

“The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, yes.” She replied. “I took it because I knew the Greybeards would send you looking for it if they thought you were Dragonborn.”

“Well she is Dragonborn, The Greybeards said it themselves.” Elsa spat, she did not like this woman.

“Well forgive me Princess for not believing everything the Graybeards say.” The Innkeeper snarked back to Elsa. “However, this is not the conversation I need to be having. If you’ll follow me Dragonborn, I have a place where we can speak privately.”

“Um.. okay. Let’s go Els.” Anna replied, pocketing the horn.

“Not her, just you Dragonborn.”

That was shocking. Neither Elsa or Anna had expected to be parted. At first, they wanted to fight it, but one look from the woman’s face said that it was a bad idea. She clearly wasn’t budging. She also had her hand on a small knife to prove that she was very serious. While one knife wasn’t much against two of Skyrim’s most powerful people, neither felt like fighting while still slightly drunk.

“I’ll head to Whiterun then.” Elsa conceded. “Then tomorrow up to Solitude. If you need to reach me, send a Courier straight to the Blue Palace.”

Anna nodded and then wrapped the Princess in a gentle hug. Elsa happily returned it. Not even a moment later, they broke apart due to an impatient cough from the innkeeper. Sighing, the two pulled away and Elsa started for the door. Anna stayed rooted to her spot until Elsa was out the door and the thundering of hooves leaving town could be heard through the walls of the inn.

“Now can we finally talk, Dragonborn?”

Anna glared at the woman but answered. “Fine. Let’s talk.”

* * *

When Elsa arrived at the gates of Whiterun, she noted that Ri'saad and his caravan was there. Joy lit up her face as she dismounted at their campsite. Joyous welcome were exchanged as the Princess hugged the members of the caravan. But there was one member missing. Ma'randru-jo was not among the Khajiit.

"Where is-"

"Killed. Assassinated by a member of the Dark Brotherhood." Atahbah hissed out angrily.

The whole camp went silent and all that could be heard was the crackling of the campfire. The temperature noticeably dropped after Elsa had been given the news. No one dared move a muscle though. Instead they tried to keep their shivering at a minimum, not wanting to have her lash out against them.

"When." Elsa asked in a hollow tone.

"The sunrise before last. On our travels through the many mountains." Ri'saad responded from his position on the floor. "The Mountain Dwellers attacked Khajiit and the assassin was among them. It was too fast."

"Khajiit are not safe in this land, Ma'elsa. Cub should go into the walls of the white city and protect herself." An armored Khajiit told her earnestly.

The blonde frowned but relented when all of the other Khajiit agreed with their armored companion. They practically shoved her away and bid their farewells as the forced Elsa up the path which lead into the city. Atahbah walked with her the whole way to the gates. She was stopped by the guards who forced her to turn back and return to the Caravans.

“Why do you keep them out there? It isn’t safe.” Elsa asked clearly frustrated and slightly distressed about Ma’randru-jo’s death.

“All Nord Villages do. Their kind isn’t welcome.” One of the guards replied with a shrug. “It ain’t our decision. If you’re so mad about it, take it up with Irileth.”

“Oh believe me. I will.” Elsa told them darkly before pushing her way into the city. If Solitude was offering the Caravans safe havens, every city could.

* * *

Whiterun had seemingly erupted with celebration. Lanterns were strung up over the pathway, making the paths look as if they were lit up like stars. Children were racing around having the time of their life and the adults were happily conversing and drinking their mead happily.

The Princess made her way up to the center of the plains District, where the market was and the bulk of the people were standing happily. On the steps of the Bannered Mare stood the Bard from Hammerfell, Naveen. He was strumming his lute and belting out song after song. Even Jon Battle-Born had joined him in a few of them, despite his dislike of the Redguard man.

The Jarl had even come down from Dragonsreach and was presently sharing a dance with Irileth. While Elsa did not like the Dunmer woman, they seemed to be having fun. The Companions had come down from their hall to join the festivities… and they brought their Lute. It was Aela the Huntress who had spotted Elsa and she approached the Princess.

“Pleasure to see you Ma’elsa. Is our little Anna with you?” The huntress asked, curiously. She was not wearing her armor that Elsa had first seen. Instead she settled for a rather revealing set of Tavern clothes. It was a simple red dress with a leather corset that rested under her breasts. The woman still had her trusty bow with her and a dagger was strapped to her leg as a precaution.

“Please, call me Elsa.” The blonde replied with a small smile. “But no, Anna is off doing Dragonborn duties… You look… different?”

Aela laughed at the Princess’ awkward statement. “I don’t often get out of my armor, but when I do, I make sure I’m turning quite a few heads.” The two laughed at that and then Aela spoke again. “Like what you see, your highness?”

“I cannot confirm nor deny that statement.” Elsa laughed out. When she finished her statement, the song ended. Elsa watched Balgruuf and Irileth vacate the makeshift dance floor and she quickly took her leave. “Excuse me, I have something to do.”

“Come back later sister.” Aela called after the Princess. “We must make you sing once!” Elsa laughed at the woman and quickly disappeared through the crowd with the skill that only a practiced sneak could possess. Soon she approached Balgruuf and Irileth conversing about something she didn’t care much about.

“Jarl Balgruuf?” Elsa called out, trying not to interrupt the two. Almost instantly Irileth was up and her hand was reaching for her blade. She only stopped to see that it was Elsa.

“Forgive me, Princess. You startled me.” The Dunmer said evenly.

“I apologize. That was not my intention.” The Princess replied in a neutral tone. “I merely wished to ask for the Khajiit Caravan to be allowed into the city.”

“Why?” Irileth demanded. “The Khajiit have proven themselves to be trouble and thieves in the past. Especially Ri’saad with his dealings with skooma.”

“Ri’saad and the rest of the Khajiit do not sell skooma.” Elsa all but growled to Irileth. “They have Moon Sugar, which is not illegal.” Moon Sugar was a highly addictive substance that the Khajiit loved. Elsa had consumed the substance on a few occasions and it was useful when she desperately needed a magic boost. “Just for tonight…”

Irileth did not seem to keen about budging on the subject, but Balgruuf seemed sympathetic to Elsa’s plea. “Come now, Irileth. Just for tonight. It is a day of celebration after all.”

Irileth shot the Jarl a death glare, but she relented. “Fine.” She didn’t look at all pleased with the Jarl intervening but Elsa didn’t care. She was too overjoyed. At least her Tribe would be safe in the walls of the city for one night. “I’ll send someone down to collect them. But they leave after the celebrations. Is that clear?”

“Crystal clear.” Elsa replied, “Thank you Irileth. Now If you’ll excuse me, I must partake in the festivities. The Companions asked me to join them and I don’t with to keep them waiting.” With that said, the Princess disappeared though the crowd for a moment only to end up by Aela the Huntress’ side a few seconds later.

“I have no idea how she manages to do that…” Balgruuf mumbled, clearly impressed.

“Khajiit.” Irileth growled, turning away to go yell at one of the guards.

* * *

“There’s our Princess!” Aela cheered when Elsa turned up. “Now what do you plan to sing for us today?” The whole lot of Companions had gathered up on the steps leading up to the Gildergleam. The steps acted as seating for everyone not dancing.

“Who said I would sing?” Elsa laughed out.

“She CAN speak like a normal person!” Tovar, the drunk from last time, shouted. “Pay up!” A few members of the companions fished out a few coins from their pockets and put them in Tovar’s outstretched palm.

“Oh come on, you have to sing!” Aela called out. “We brought the lute!”

“THE LUTE!” Farkas and Vilkas echoed happily. They also were void of armor. Instead the brothers wore miners clothes which consisted of a white tunic and black trousers and boots. Most of the companions were in normal clothes. Ria had a blue dress and Njada was in a pair of black trousers with a white tunic and a black leather vest over top of it. The men all wore black trousers with varying colored tunics and black boots.

“I think I need a drink or two in be before I sing!” Elsa laughed out. Almost instantly Farkas shot out of his seat with his brother trailing right behind him. Before long they returned with trays full of mead.

“Drink up ladies and gents! The Harvest’s End fest is about to get a whole lot more fun.” Farkas called out joyously before he and Vilkas passed out drinks.

“One for our favorite cat and one for our lovely Ruby.” Farkas said teasingly.

“Shut up Ice Brain.” Aela barked out.

“Ruby?” Elsa asked curiously.

“Anna once said my hair reminded her of a Ruby. Since then, the name stuck.” Aela replied with a slightly red face. It was hard to see in the darkness though. “Bottoms up, Companions. We have the whole night to enjoy!” And so they did.

* * *

That night was full of drunk Nords and equally drunk Khajiit. The three members of the caravan behaved themselves quite well and they even partook in singing and dancing. Ri’saad sang some traditional tunes from Cyrodiil that he learned in his travels. Atahbah sang some tunes of Elsweyr. Their armored guard didn’t sing, but she danced with Idolaf Battle-Born who still wore his Imperial Armor.

Despite the Nord’s prejudice against the cat people of Elsweyr, they all seemed to have a grand time that night. The Khajiit told the city all about the traditions they had for their festivals, some of which Elsa had seen in her time with the tribe, others that she had never heard about.

Atahbah was enchanting the young children with stories of the Mane and his body guards who all were master warriors, each using special fighting styles only known to Khajiit. The she-cat also let slip that she too practiced the Whispering Fang style. All the Nord children begged her for a show, but the old cat faked being far too tired. In the end, the kids ran off pretending to be the Mane and his warriors.

“This one had no idea that you were a master of the Whispering Fang.” Elsa mused as the children ran off, playing.

“My father spent his whole life guarding the Mane. It is no surprise that his cub picked up on his skills.” Atahbah replied with a grin. “However this one is no master, just a student.”

“Remind the cub never to pick a fight with you.”

“This one believes the Cub is smart enough not to even dream of it.” Elsa laughed and left the Khajiit to return to the celebrations. It seemed the Nords wished to try one of the Khajiit’s traditions, the sharing of Moon Sugar.

Moon Sugar was precious to the Khajiit. The substance was a religious one. They believed that it was a gift from the gods, a bit of their souls. Eating even a portion will draw you closer to them. This was why Moon Sugar was a major staple in the catfolk’s diet. Since the sugar was so addictive, the Nords had decided to mix it in mead and everyone would take just one sip of it. All leftovers would be given to the Khajiit who would finish it off. After all, Moon Sugar did not have as large an effect on them as it did to others.

Ri’saad led the tradition and crushed the sugars together before sprinkling them over the mead. He spoke a few words in Ta’agra, the language of Khajiit, as he blessed the glass of mead. The glass was then passed to Jarl Balgruuf, as he was the leader of Whiterun. He took a drink and then passed the glass to Proventus. This went on until every adult in Whiterun (Excluding Irileth, Elsa and the other Khajiit) had taken a drink.

The Khajiit moved away from the group to do the same thing that the Nords had done, except with actual moon sugar. Elsa was given the smallest sliver of Moon Sugar, as she was still a Nord biologically. The rest of the Khajiit were given larger pieces since they could stand it. Like before, Ri’saad blessed the sugars before the members of the tribe took their bites.

Once the small Khajiit ceremony was finished, Ri’saad returned to the group or Nords. They were just starting to recover from their intake of Moon Sugar. “This one humbly thanks the Nords for participating in one of Khajiit’s most important traditions.” The greying catman told the group. He gave a slight bow to them as well.

“On behalf of Whiterun, we thank you for sharing your traditions.” Jarl Balgruuf replied, slightly slurring his words. “And I believe everyone here can agree that this was the best damn glass of mead we’ve ever had.”

Roars of laughter could be heard, but no one disagreed. At this point, Elsa wandered back over to the Nords. She was still a little shaky from her Moon Sugar trip, but she felt elated and better than before… also a little drunk. Unlike the other Khajiit, Elsa had a sort of vision, though she ignored it and believed it to be cause by having more moon sugar in one sitting than she had ever had before.

“Now let us enjoy have one last song before we end our celebrating!” Balgruuf called out joyfully.

The rest of Whiterun agreed with his statement. On cue, the twins shoved the lute into Elsa’s hands and Aela pushed her until she had to stand on top of the currently covered well. “We found a most willing singer!” The Companions shouted drunkenly.

Elsa was caught of guard for a moment, but soon she just laughed it off and played along. “What will I sing?” Elsa called out to the eager crowd.

Before she received an answer, a thundering sound came from the south east. All eyes looked toward the Throat of the World, where the sounds was coming from. The very noise shook the earth underneath the party goer’s feet, causing some of the drunks to fall over. Even Elsa lost her balance for a second.

_"Lingrah krosis saraan Strundu'ul, voth nid balaan klov praan nau.”_

It took Elsa a moment to understand what was being said. This was unlike anything she had heard before but she was certain she had read it in one of the old dusty tomes in the beginning of her studies. She, like the others, knew it was the doing of the Greybeards. They were the only ones who possessed the power to make the entirety of Skyrim shake beneath their feet.

_“Naal Thu'umu, mu ofan nii nu, Dovahkiin, naal suleyk do Kaan, naal suleyk do Shor, ahrk naal suleyk do Atmorasewuth. Meyz nu Ysmir, Dovahsebrom. Dahmaan daar rok."_

Then everything was silent. No one dared to move and most folk were holding their breath. Only the sound of the wind could be heard. The group of people had no idea what to do. Their eyes were just focused on the mountains in shock and even fear. A few moments later a shout, more powerful than anything they had ever heard, sounded from the mountain top.

_“FUS RO DAH!”_

With everyone preoccupied, Elsa took this as her chance. She now knew the perfect song to play. The young woman carefully pressed her fingers to the lute and she began to play. _“Our hero our hero claims a warriors heart.”_ The woman started softly. The group tore their eyes from the mountain and began to watch the Princess. Some people had small smiles on their faces, others were simply confused. _“I tell you I tell you, the Dragonborn comes.”_ A small grin could be seen on her face as she sang. Soon others couldn’t help but smile as well. _“With a voice wielding power of the ancient Nord Art.”_ The Companions all raised their tankards to the woman singing on the well. They began to sway with her beat and cheered, trying to get her to increase her volume. _“Believe believe the Dragonborn comes!”_

Soon more voices joined Elsa’s. Men, women, children and even the Khajiit raised their voices in song. _“It's an end to the evil, of all Skyrim's foes.”_ Cheers of victory could be heard at that statement before they continued on. _“Beware, beware, the Dragonborn comes.”_ Elsa moved her fingers over the strings of the Lute, having played the some more than a few times, it became easier. But being drunk made it more… interesting. _“For the darkness has passed, and the legend yet grows,”_ By now every person in Whiterun, even the stubborn Irileth was singing proudly. _“You'll know, you'll know the Dragonborn's come.”_ As if Anna knew what was happening down below in her city, she had used Unrelenting Force just as Elsa played the last notes of the song and the sound echoed all the way out to Whiterun. Victorious cheers sounded and soon drinks were drunk and the entirety of Whiterun had drank their tankards.

And so the Harvest’s End Festival drew to a close. The citizens of Whiterun hobbled out of the marketplace to their homes. Leftover drinks were drunk and leftover food was given to Brenuin the drunk beggar and little Lucia, the little beggar girl.

After being kind citizens and walking the drunk people home, The Companions all started their trek up to Jorrvaskr. Kodlak have given Elsa permission to stay in Anna’s room for the night, as the Princess was now close with all the Companions (Save for maybe Vignar). Soon the upside down ship shaped building came into view and everyone wobbled through the eating area to get down into the living area of the Mead Halls.

“An’ then, she freaked out ‘bout all the skeever guts on her back an’ jumped ‘round screamin’” Elsa told the group through her fits of giggles. The Companions all laughed but then broke off to their own rooms. Elsa made it to Anna’s room with no issues. Without removing her robes, she collapsed on the straw mattress and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next morning everyone awoke with terrible hangovers, so breakfast was a quiet one. Any talking that happened was very quiet. The silence stayed that way until Athis and Niada started bickering. It soon turned into an all out fist fight where the hangovers were forgotten and everyone was cheering for someone to win. Everyone except Aela, Kodlak and Elsa. They were sitting at the edge of the hall when the doors opened.

Entering the hall was a rather burly man. He had long hair but no facial hair that anyone could see. The man wore a simple set of fur armor and his weapon was nowhere to be seen. He was a rather young looking man, from what the two women could see. Most likely younger than Ria, the youngest companion.

“Is he a Companion?” Elsa asked curiously.

“No… probably a kid looking to do something with his life. Looks pretty young though.” Aela commented. Her attention turned to Kodlak, to see what he made of the young man.

“He has a spark about him. I can see courage in his eyes, and a willingness to prove his worth…” The old man told the two women. “He would fit well here.” The Harbinger’s eyes rested on Aela for a moment. The two stared at each other for a little bit before Aela stood up. She raced over to Farkas and pulled him away from the brawl so he could get an eye of the new blood.

“Come, my lady. I believe you will get to see how we test hopefuls for the Companions.” And that was how Elsa spent the better half of her morning dodging blows from the agile young man in fur. Kodlak and the others believed that if Elsa was to be taking Anna away from them without paying her, that she should at least be able to defend herself and fight as well and any Whelp. Without using her ice magic, the Princess managed to exceed their expectations.

After their fight, the young man introduced himself as Tarzan. He explained that he was orphaned as a child but Trolls raised him with the help from a pack of bears. It explained his strength and even his speed. After all, bears could easily outrun and human.

“You have a good weapon.“ Tarzan told Elsa quietly when they sat put in the training grounds. “It is very beautiful, much like yourself.”

“It was a gift from my brother.” Elsa replied and she placed her hands against the Skyforge Steel blade. “It is made of Skyforge Steel, the best steel in all of Tamriel.” Tarzan grunted but said nothing. Instead he just stared at her, observing her and also admiring her. The silence was broken by Aela.

“Princess! Hurry up. You have to take off soon or you wont make it to Solitude before sundown!” That startled Elsa. Instantly she was on her feet with her blade sheathed. She quickly bid Tarzan farewell before joining Aela and the two raced off through the city.

“Princess?” Tarzan asked, looking over to Farkas, who had wandered over to the newest whelp.

“Didn’t they tell you?” Farkas asked, Tarzan shook his head. “Elsa is the High Princess of Skyrim. She’s probably going to be the next person to take the throne.”

“...Oh.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

Like Aela had predicted, Elsa made it to her city just before sunset. At the stables she slid off Marsh slowly and hit the ground with a light thud. She was sore from all the riding she had done in the last two days and she was quite ready for bed.

“Alright Marsh, you be good. The Stable boys will take care of you.” John and Michael with the stable boys at Katla’s Farm. John was the older boy and Michael was the younger. Both boys loved Marsh and Olaf and often offered to play with them for Elsa when she was busy. The boys had an older sister named Wendy but she was apparently off adventuring with their dog, Nana.

“John, Michael!” Elsa called to the stable boys. They both quickly rushed over and awaited her instructions. “Take good care of Marsh for me. He needs plenty of rest and food. I believe this should cover everything.” Elsa handed John a small bag of gold which he took inside to Katla, the owner of the stables and farm. When no one was looking, she placed another bag of gold in Michael’s hands. “And here’s a little something for you and John. My treat.”

The young boy grinned and hugged Elsa happily. “Thank you Princess!” He whispered happily. “We’ll take good care of Marshy-mallow! He and Sven can play together!” The boy took Marsh’s reins and led him away to the stables. The large horse was put in the stall next to a rather larger reindeer, who seemed happy to see the horse. Seeing that Marsh was in good hands, Elsa left the small farm and headed up to her home, the Blue Palace.

Upon entering her city, she could see the last rays of light disappearing over the wall. The Guards had all gotten out their torches to make protecting the streets easier. Elsa casually strolled down the path to the Palace, greeting everyone she passed with a kind smile and a few words. Her subjects welcomed her home happily and the Princess thanked them. Normally she would have started conversation with the others but her body begged for rest. It seemed as if her people could see that, since they let her go up to the palace without much conversation.

After a ten minute walk, Elsa finally saw the door to her home come into view. A few people were leaving just as Elsa approached the door. One was The Duchess. She was a lovely woman with three children. Two were well known bards who performed all over Tamriel and the third was a skilled painter. The Duchess was actually an Imperial woman who left Cyrodiil for a Thane from Solitude that she fell in love with. He died after their three kids were born, leaving her alone and to take over the position of Thane.

The second person to leave her home was Erikur. He too was a thane, and not a man that Elsa particularly liked. He believed himself to be the Divine’s gift to the Nords. He was one of the wealthiest Nords due to his impressive business set up. Many women flirted with him in hopes that he would marry them. So far it seemed as if no lady had caught his eye. Elsa felt sorry for whatever woman ended up with that trash.

“Oh! Princess Elsa! It is so good to see you again!” The Duchess said to her kindly. She wore the sweetest smile and looked genuinely happy to see her. “Your sister and mother have been worrying so much about you. It is so good to see you are safe.” With her children all gone, The Duchess often dotted and worried over Elsa as if she was her own child.

“I am in perfect health. “Elsa declared to the older woman. “I would love to stay and chat, but I had a long ride from Whiterun after a long night of celebration and I think I can hear my bed calling to me. “ The Princess joked. Both women laughed but the Duchess let Elsa pass and sleep.

“Have a wonderful night, darling!” She called before Elsa closed the door behind her. With her bed so close, Elsa pushed passed the Castle Staff and made a beeline to her room, only to be caught in a fierce hug from Elisif.

“ELSA!” She all but shrieked at the exhausted Princess.

“GAH! Elisif!” Elsa cried out before falling to the floor from the sudden weight. “Go away Elisif.”

“Not a chance. “The Jarl growled out, only holding her ‘sister’ tighter. “I have been worried sick all evening because I thought you were at Kynesgrove!”

“I was in Whiterun for a good portion of the afternoon.” Elsa told her honestly. “I’m pretty convinced that I had far too much to drink during last night’s celebration and I am regretting all the drinks I had yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised if I am still drunk.” Elisif gave her glared at her for her childish behavior but didn’t chastise her. “What happened at Kynesgrove?”

“You don’t know?” Elsa shook her head. “A dragon attacked it. No one knows why. I just got the news but two hours ago. We don’t know anything about the casualties but apparently two women were seen running up toward the dragon. One was a native of Kynesgrove but we don’t know who the other is.” Elisif stood up and offered Elsa a hand. The Princess accepted and rose to her feet.

“Do you know what the looked like?” Elsa asked, worry now consuming her. Only one person was stupid enough to go after a dragon, her name was Anna Iron-Fist.

“An older woman, breton maybe? Blonde hair and an armored redhead woman. The blonde had lighter armor and the other had Companions armor, or so our intelligence believes.”

At that statement, all the blood drained out of Elsa’s face. Anna WAS the idiot who went to face the dragon. “Are they alive?” She asked frantically. Elisif shrugged. This was followed by a groan from the Princess. “I leave for one day and she already does something ridiculous. Why the Divines made her Dragonborn is beyond me.”

“Dragonborn? So the tales are true?! The Dragonborn has returned!?”

“Yes, now can I go to sleep?”

“Only if you tell me EVERYTHING tomorrow!” Elisif made Elsa swear to tell her every last juicy detail tomorrow when she woke up and so the Jarl let the woman go. Never had Elsa run so fast. In three seconds she had left Elisif, entered her room and jumped into her soft bed. Like the night before, Elsa didn’t change out of the current robes that she wore, instead she fell into a lovely sleep in her bed for the first time in forever.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna in Solitude, Part One!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi and welcome back! This is that last chapter that's been written already and now we're all caught up. I'll be starting to write chapter 10 now but it won't be out for some time. With like... 4 on going stories and work (I'll be taking on about 40+ hours every week), I doubt I'll be able to write much any time soon. Sorry in advance!
> 
> Also heads up, I threw a lot of my own sort of lore and traditions in this chapter. Yay creative liberties!

3rd of Hearthfire

A almost a week later was when Anna had arrived in Solitude. By now the world had known about the dragon slaying at Kynesgrove. Few knew about it being Anna. The young Dragonborn had pulled up to the Solitude stables to see two young boys riding on Marsh and on a large deer... thing. Joan first recognised the massive steed and she raced over to him. In the process, Joan had thrown Anna from her spot. She landed with a painful thud, but no one seemed to notice her.

"Who's this Marshy?" The tall dark haired boy asked the horse. He looked incredibly small compared to the massive Marsh. A part of Anna wondered how he managed to sit on Marsh, but the wooden boxed by the stables gave her some clues. The two boys stood in the middle of a small courtyard. To one side were the stables and the other side a small farm. It was still a little early in the morning so no one way out just yet, or so it seemed.

"Is this your lady friend?" The young blonde on the reindeer asked. Both boys were talking to the horse as if he could speak back to them. His high squeaky voice tore Anna away from her surveying of the ground. Her gaze instead shifted to the little boy that was riding a rather large reindeer. Even with the help of boxes, it must have been difficult to mount the the great beast.

"Uh, that's my horse." Anna groaned out from her spot on the ground. Thankfully she had landed in the dirt as opposed to the cobblestone path that was just beside her. Her head was ringing slightly because she had actually worn her helmet. The noise from the impact just made her head hurt, but not as much as it could have hurt without it.

The boy's heads perked up to stare at the warrior sprawled out in the dirt. "What'cha doin' down there?" The shorter blonde boy asked. "Katla says that you shouldn' lay in the dirt. It's unbecomin' of a young man." He told Anna as-a-matter-of-a-factly.

The Dragonborn simply scoffed and picked herself off the ground. "Well I am no man." She told him while brushing off chunks of dirt from her armor. "But I will accept being young." She added with a wolfish grin.

The two boys dismounted with practiced ease before they led their mounts back to the stables (where Marsh and the deer both seemed to be carrying on some deep conversation). It was interesting to see Marsh so relaxed. He wasn't the warhorse that he needed to be out on the road with Elsa. Anna saw this once when playing tag with him at High Hrothgar. It was just refreshing to see that he could be kind and not intimidating.

"Welcome to Solitude!" The taller brunet greeted Anna, "Would you like us to stable your horse for you?" The taller of the boys asked her. While he spoke, his younger partner (perhaps younger brother) already was tending to Joan.

Anna shrugged, not really caring. "Yeah sure. How much?" There seemed to be one open stall for a horse. It was right next to Marsh's stall too. At least Joan would have some company in this foreign place.

"It's five septims a night and only thirty for the entire week." The boy rattled off as if he said this a lot. "It includes, food, water, exercise and board."

"We take the horsies out every day!" The young blond piped up over by Joan. Her lovely mare was taking quite well to the young boy buy nuzzling up against him affectionately. "And muck the stalls and feed 'em and and and sleep with them so they don't get lonely!" By the end of his outburst, he had seemingly won over Joan's heart because she was nuzzling the boy's head with her own massive one. "I'm John! And this is my big brother Michael! We take real good care of the horsies!"

While Anna thought the scene was cute, something about the young kid's statement bothered her. Normally stable hands were given a place to sleep indoors away from the elements. That's how it was in Whiterun. Hearing that these boys were forced to sleep out in the stables in the cold made the Dragonborn angry. How could Elsa let this happen! She should be taking better care of her citizens!

Anna dug through her pockets and pulled out a small change purse. She didn't know how much was in there but she was sure it was enough to last Joan for a week. "Keep the change for yourselves." The woman growled as she tossed the purse to the boys. Without saying goodbye to Joan, Anna stalked up the pathway to the capital city.

Watch towers lined the pathway to the main gates of the city. The stone towers stood as a statement to the might of Solitude itself, or so Anna guessed. A handful of guards could be seen walking up and down the long cobblestone pathway and another handful were undoubtedly hiding in the watchtowers. At the top of the way by the gates, familiar tents could be seen off to the side. The Khajiit Caravans were in the city!

The Dragonborn picked up the pace, hoping that she would be able to spot Elsa relaxing with the Caravans - her people. When she arrived at their camp, she was disappointed. Not only was Elsa not there, no one was there. Their fire had gone out and all they had was an ash pit. The tents remained but no personal effects were there. If Anna had taken the time to look at the campsite, she would have noticed that there were quite a lot of tends for one small caravan. As if a gathering of Skyrim's Khajiit had come. But Anna noticed nothing except for the lack of a certain blonde beauty, and so she turned away disappointed.

"If you're looking for Ma'dran and his band of thieving cats, they should be with Ra'kiraya somewhere." A guard told Anna from his post. He was leaning against the wall, clearly bored. With his face hidden by his helmet, she couldn't tell what he was looking at, but she guessed he was looking at her.

"Uh, right. Thanks. Any idea where in the city?" She knows she should defend the khajiit for Elsa, but something told her that the guards probably don't care or they've heard it plenty of times but chose not to care.

"Does it look like I keep track of where those cats are?" The guard snapped back. "They're in the city, Companion. Find 'em yourself."

Well at least they knew she was a Companion. Though the Wolf Armor was a dead giveaway. Anna nodded to the guard and quickly pushed the gates open into the city.

Solitude was beautiful. Anna had to admit, it's beauty was on par with Whiterun. Instead of massive white walls to protect the city, there were grey stone walls. The buildings seemed to be made from the same grey stone and some wood. The city was an incredible strong hold as it was built on a stone arch overlooking the great Karth River. Though being inside the city, you wouldn't believe that it sat on a stone arch overlooking the water.

The great walls of the city made Anna feel incredibly safe. Nothing but a huge army (and a dragon or two) could bring this place to the ground. It was no wonder that this was the capital city of Skyrim.

Upon entering the city, Anna could clearly see the inn. It was named the Winking Skeever. After her incident with the Skeever guts back in Bleak Falls, Anna didn't seem to keep to stay at the inn. So the woman avoided looking at the inn and focused her gaze across the way. Just across from the Winking Skeever was a clothing store. It seemed like a fine store and made Anna wonder what clothes they sold. After all, she needed a few new tunics.

Curiosity got the better of her and so the redhead soon found herself inside the store looking at the fine clothing that they had to offer. "Anna stop getting side tracked!" The Companion muttered to herself as she hastily put down a nice green tunic. "We need to get to the Palace to find Elsa."

"If you're going to the Blue Palace, you may want to rethink that... attire..." A voice called from behind her.

Anna spun around quickly to come face to face with an Altmer. The high elf looked down upon her in what seemed to be disgust. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" The Companion argued, clearly offended that someone dared question Eorlund's skill in crafting the finest armor.

"Nothing... If you want to be seen as some barbarian."

"Watch it lady, you're talking to a Companion here." Anna growled to her. "This is some of the finest armor ever made."

"And you look like some disgusting ruffian who just came from war." The altmer woman fired back in the same harsh tone. The two glowered at each other for a moment before Anna backed down. This was not her city to cause trouble in. Elsa would not forgive her is she messed with her citizens.

"Fine then. What should I wear to the Blue Palace?" Anna asked her, crossing her arms.

The woman didn't answer instantly, instead she raced off to the back of the shop. She returned a moment later with a set of fine clothing. It had a fine green tunic complete with a green robe over it and a lovely fur cloak over that. A set of brown trousers completed the ensemble and definitely looked like something a nobleman would wear.

"Now this would be something that you should wear to the Palace. The finest clothes from Radiant Raiments. If you are truly going to the palace, wear this." The woman explained. Anna reached for the fine garment but her hand was swatted away. "But you must promise to get Jarl Elisif and Princess Elsa's opinion of the dress and tell them it is from Radiant Raiments."

"Well that's easy." Anna told the woman while she took the clothes. "I was going to see Elsa- I mean, the princess anyway! Where can I change?" Soon enough the woman was let to a small room where she quickly changed into the fancy garments. The redhead was shocked at how soft the fabric was compared to her typical clothes. It was no wonder that the nobility wore such things. They were bloody comfortable.

 

When Anna stepped out of Radiant Raiments she had only one thought on her mind. She looked fancy! The Altmer woman even fixed her hair for her, which she was thankful for. It was now nicely brushed and put into its typical twin braids. Now she could finally head to the Blue Palace!

* * *

Turns out the Blue Palace was at the very back of the city where the wealthier citizens of Solitude resided. The large three story stone houses were nicely decorated with banners of the great city and intricately designed stone work. If Anna remembered correctly, the Bard's College was back in this area. The sounds of Bards in training could be heard echoing over the street. Their fine music was a wonderful way to enjoy a walk up to the palace.

As the great Dragonborn made her way down the path to the finely made palace, children raced by her. They looked to be playing tag or something. Just as the third child raced passed Anna, he turned around and yelled back to someone.

"You can beat us!" He bellowed before booking it down the pathway to the Blue Palace. The shout was probably loud enough to wake the entire hold! Not really, but it was definitely loud enough to disturb the peace.

"Oh yes I can!" A familiar voice screamed from behind Anna. The redhead turned to a robe clad woman racing down the path. She was a considerable distance behind the kids but she was slowly gaining on them thanks to her legs (which seemed to go on forever). _"WULD NAH KEST!"_ The woman shouted and she blazed past Anna and past the three children. And in a second, she was in front of the children and racing up the path to the Blue Palace. "Who's losing now!" She called back while sticking her tongue out at them playfully.

"GET HER!" The children shouted at once. They then took off up the path as fast as their little legs could carry them.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" One girl hollered as they gained on the woman.

"YEAH!" Another kid hollered.

"CHEATER CHEATER PRINCESS! BEAT HER!" The last child screamed.

Anna couldn't help but laugh at the scene before her. The woman who had 'cheated' was none other than Princess Elsa. The Dragonborn would have never thought that Elsa would play with children on the streets. Seeing that the children were not going to be able to catch her, Anna decided to also give chase to Elsa. After all, she had to even out the playing field a little bit.

Thanks to her Werewolf ability, she was faster than most humans. Because of this, she had caught up to the group of kids within moments. "I've got her kids!" Anna declared. _"WULD NAH!"_ She shouted. Not even a moment later, Anna had caught a struggling Elsa in her arms. "Got you princess."

Ice blue eyes looked back to see playful teal ones. Before Elsa could speak, both she and Anna were caught by the kids. Soon the three had jumped and pulled then to the ground. The small group began to laugh and play fight with each other. It was quickly broken apart by a small detachment of guards. All had their weapons pointed directly at Anna.

"Get your filthy hands off of High Princess Elsa!" A woman shouted. Her face was hidden by the typical guard helmet, but if her voice was any indication about her mood, then she was livid. The threat made Anna back away slightly, but only enough so that she could reach for her faithful blade. The other guards made themselves useful by picking up the grounded blonde. Her eyes said sorry to Anna but she did not call off the guards.

"Now what were you doing with our princess?" The guard growled, advancing slightly.

"I was playing with my-" Panic overtook Elsa and she quickly intervened. Not because she didn't think Anna could handle it, but because she was worried Anna would say girlfriend as opposed to friend.

"Helga." Elsa said quickly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The Dragonborn is a dear friend of mine. Do try to treat her with respect."

The guard recoiled slightly. After staring at Elsa for a moment, she finally sheathed her weapon. "Of course your Highness. Just doing my job, that's all."

"And I think you for that." Elsa replied with a kind smile. "You have protected me quite well all these years. I know my father and my brother picked the right woman to be my guard."

From the way the helmet moved, Anna could see that the guard averted her gaze. No doubt she was blushing underneath. "It's nothing mi'lady. I am not worthy of such high praise."

"Well I say you are. Now, why don't you all go down to the kitchens for a nice break. Tell Lady Potts and little Chip that I sent you for a good meal." Elsa told the small group of soldiers. They all looked at each other, clearly confused. After all, they couldn't very well leave their princess alone! But before they could argue, Elsa piped up. "I will be in capable hands with this Companion."

Once they heard that Anna was a Companion, all reservations about leaving were gone. With a quick bow, most were off to get a nice meal. Helga was the only one left. She lingered for a moment, but soon offered the Princess a bow and joined her men. The children had scurried off, looking for better things to do it seemed, leaving just Anna and Elsa on the path. It was Elsa who spoke first between them.

"So, you learned more of Whirlwind Sprint." Elsa noticed as she brushed off her robes. They were not mage robes though. They looked far more regal. Clothes worthy of a Princess. "And no rips, Elisif will be glad." Elsa muttered as she surveyed herself.

"Well, I was curious so after Kynesgrove I asked Arngeir where I could find the a word of power. Thankfully it was the next one for Whirlwind Sprint." Anna explained with a small awkward smile. "Killed a few more dragons too."

"So you were at Kynesgrove." Elsa replied in a dark tone. "Our sources told us a redhead in companion armor and a leather-clad Breton were there fighting the dragon."

"Your sources?" Anna asked, "you mean you have people spying on me?" She was not sure if she should be shocked, angry or absolutely flattered that Elsa had been keeping tabs on her over her week long absence.

"Not you, Anna. There is a war going on, if you hadn't forgotten. They're spying on Ulfric." Elsa was going to add something about how the man was a traitor but she held her tongue. She didn't need to upset Anna any more. "Word got back to us the day after Harvest's End, not long before I arrived. I can't say I'm surprised that you some how got involved."

"Yeah fighting a dragon while drunk was not my best idea." The Dragonborn admitted with a sheepish grin on her face. She didn't seem sorry for it though.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Elsa replied sarcastically. "You could have died!" She shouted exasperatedly.

"I took care of it, no problem!" Anna told her with a lazy grin. "That dragon had nothing on the Dragonborn. Besides, I had back up."

"Because a woman in her mid fifties can definitely be seen as back up." Elsa snarked out.

"Geez Elsa! What's wrong with you?" Anna all but shouted. She didn't see what the problem was. After all, she took care of the dragon with no problem. She was the Dragonborn! The master Dragon Slayer, this was her job... sorta?

Finally Elsa wrapped her arms around the Companion and pulled her close. A tear or two fell over her eyelids as she buried her face into the crook of Anna's neck. "I could have lost you..." The princess mumbled sadly. "I don't know what I could have done if I did lose you... You're are my first real friend, aside from Kristoff." Though Kristoff was sometimes more of an acquaintance than a friend. Sven, his reindeer, was more of a friend to him than Elsa was.

Any sort of anger or frustration that Anna had towards Elsa's odd behavior suddenly left when the blonde held on to her (as if for dear life). While they didn't know each other for long, apparently surviving from a dragon attack meant that you would be a lot closer than you would with others. Wait! That big black dragon that they escaped from!

"Elsa!" Anna quickly pulled away from the embrace and looked into the tearful blue eyes. "Remember that big black dragon we ran away from?" The blonde nodded, confused while wiping away her tears. "I saw it again when it raised the Kynesgrove dragon... from the dead! Also I missed you too and I won't die anytime soon but- IT RAISED A DRAGON FROM THE DEAD!"

If Elsa wasn't confused before, she was confused now. How can a dragon raise other dragons from the dead. Unless it was- oh wait- it was. Alduin. Right. While she wasn't positive, it matched all the stories that Elsa had ever read. This just confirmed it.

"So Delphine think the Thalmor know more about this whole thing so were thinking up a plan for all this. The Thalmor probably know more so we need to talk to them about it. But we can't just go talk to them because Delphine is a part of the Blades and-"

"Hold on." Elsa stopped the Dragonborn quickly. "Did you say the Blades?" The Blades were not in the best of situations. If Anna was hanging around one, it was bad news.

"Yes Elsa, pay attention. So anyway-"

"No Anna!" The princess hissed out. "You listen!" Just before she was about to speak, Elsa spotted movement from the corner of her eye. Turning, she noted Erikur and his Altmer bodyguard were slowly making their way to the Blue Palace to join the Court. A place she should be headed too. She quickly turned back to Anna and muttered to her. "We will discuss this later. Now is not the time. There are ears everywhere." Before the Dragonborn could question her, Elsa had already engaged in conversation with the Thane.

"Thane Erikur, what a beautiful morning is it not?" The princess asked the man as he drew closer.

"It is a lovely morning! But it's beauty is nothing compared to yours." It was official, Anna did not like this man. She coughed slightly, alerting the man of her presence (and that he needed to stop moving in on her woman).

"Oh, Thane Erikur, meet my dear friend Anna Iron-Fist." Elsa said before Erikur could ask.

"It's pleasure. Any friend of the Princess is a friend of mine!" The burly Nord said, though it did not sound sincere. "What fine clothes you wear, you must be quite well off. Pray tell what do you do for a living?"

Anna moved closer to Elsa until she was next to her. Then she threw her arm over the princess' shoulder and squeezed. "Oh you know, delve into dangerous nordic barrows, find rare treasure, kill dragons, save lives. You know typical things that honor the Companions." The redhead told him with a grin. "Apparently escorting Princesses all across Skyrim falls into the job description."

The Nord man looked at Anna and nodded, but he didn't look too impressed. "I see you're one of those type to throw her life away." This guy was definitely a milk drinker in Anna's mind. "I like to think of myself as an honorable business man. I'd prefer to stay alive and come home to my wife and children when I married." The tall man focused all his attention on Elsa as he said that. "Yes I think I can make a woman very happy with a nice house, financial security and anything she could ever need."

Anna quickly interrupted the man to save Elsa from his awkward statements. "Well it's been a pleasure kinsman but the princess has promised me a tour of Solitude and the surrounding areas."

Elsa then threw her arm over Anna's shoulder. "That's right! We have to collect a few things from the palace before we head down to the docks." She shifted so now that her attention was focused solely at the Dragonborn. "Come, you can meet my sister!" And like two giddy young girls, they happily raced up the path toward the entrance of Elsa's home.

Upon entering the Blue Palace, Anna was in awe. While Dragonsreach was tall and plain looking, the Blue Palace screamed elegance. There was a lovely entrance hall where guests that have yet to address the court could wait. Beyond was a typical great hall with a grand staircase on each side of the room leading up to where Jarl Elisif held court. Elsa and Anna currently stood in the great hall looking up towards the steps.

"This is where you live?" Anna asked in awe. "It's beautiful!"

"It may not be as big as Dragonsreach but I think the Blue Palace if far more elegant." Elsa responded, "Care to head up?"

Anna nodded but gestured for Elsa to lead the way. The princess giggled but walked up the grand stairwell first. Soon enough both women reached the top of the steps and they were greeted with Jarl Elisif on her throne. Next to her was Falk Firebeard. The Duchess was sitting off to the side of the court.  
"Good for you to finally join us, Elsa." Elisif said with a small grin. "Oh! And this must be the Dragonborn! How lovely to meet you!"

Elsa smiled. "Elisif, meet Anna. Anna meet my sister Elisif."

"It is an honor to meet you, my Jarl." Anna responded while giving a bow to the Jarl. "If I didn't know better, I would say that beauty must run in your family." Elsa rolled her eyes but smiled at the Companion. She may be a fool, but she was Elsa's fool.

"You flatterer, Elsa warned me of you." The jarl laughed out. "You're lucky Elsa enjoys the compliments." Though it didn't seem like Elsa was the only one.

"She doesn't seem to accept them well." Anna replied with a laugh. The two seemed to hit it off quite well.

"I'm right here you know." Elsa called out from behind Anna. Her faced had taken on a more sour expression. Most likely due to the slightly mocking comments about her.

"Oh relax, Elsa." Elisif told her with a smile. "I am having a lovely conversation with the Dragonborn."

"At my expense." The princess deadpanned. At this point she had moved over to her throne next to her sister. It sat lower than Elisif's but it was just as comfortable. The ornate chair used to be Torygg's when Istlod ruled over Skyrim.

"I'm your sister, I'm allowed to." The jarl told her sister while patting the blonde's leg affectionately. She then turned her attention back to Anna. "Do you have siblings, Anna?"

"Only my shield siblings." Anna replied with a smile. "My Ma and Da passed when I was small. Afterward Clan Grey-Mane took me in. Their sons became like brothers to me and I became Eorlund's apprentice and that's pretty much how I started off my life with the Companions."

"Well if you started there so young you must be an incredible warrior. After all you did save our dear Elsa from a dragons and we must thank you for that."

"I'm pretty sure Elsa saved me." Anna replied honestly. "I was knocked out at the start of the attack. If she didn't come get me, I would have been dragon food."

"Humble and skilled. You are quite a rare find. You need to keep this one Elsa."

From her throne, Elsa rolled her eyes. "No one is keeping anyone. Anna is a friend." A friend that she really liked kissing when no one was around. No one needed to know that though.

"Well then invite her around more. I like this friend. At least she's clean." Elisif responded.

"If that's a jab at Kristoff, I will-"

"He smells like a stable, Elsa!" Elisif argued while throwing her hands up slightly.

"You smell like a stable." Elsa fired back.

"If anyone smells like a stable, it's probably me." Anna interjected quickly to try and stop the fighting sisters.

The sisters locked eyes with each other for a moment in what seemed to be an intense staring contest before they started laughing. At this point Erikur had arrived and taken his seat in court. With the last of her Thanes present, Elisif could now hold court and listen to the woes of her citizens and do her best to help. Though it was really Falk Firebeard who did everything... once he stopped making googoo eyes at The Duchess.

"Well since court is about to be in session, Anna and I are going to leave. I have made plans to show her around Solitude today." Elsa declared quickly, doing her best to get out of her princessly duties.

"Oh," Elisif seemed a little disappointed, but she did not stop them. "Well how long will you be staying, Dragonborn?" The jarl questioned. "I would love for you to have dinner with us."

"I would love to join you!" Anna replied eagerly. "Tilma makes great food, don't get me wrong but I'm sure the food here is absolutely amazing! But if I do join you, I think I would need to invest in a few more sets of these." She gestured to the finely made robes that the Altmer woman gave her earlier that day.

"They are quite lovely, what do you think, Elsa?" Both the blonde and the Jarl examined Anna's clothing with a great interest. The Companion was forced to model the outfit for the two. It was complete with walking around, spinning and striking poses for the two.

Anna was given polite applause after her little modeling stint before Elsa spoke, "Stick to your day job, Anna." Her comment was met with laughter from all the members of the court. "But I do like the clothing. Where did you get them? Surely not in Whiterun?"

"No actually. It was that shop at the entrance of town. And Altmer gave them to me because she thought I looked like a barbarian with my armor." To be honest, the warrior was still quite bitter about the Altmer woman's comment.

"Well Elsa, while you show the Dragonborn around, stop into Radiant Raiments and place an order for a few dresses." Elisif said to her sister, who nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." Elsa replied while standing up. "If there are no more pressing matters, I will take my leave." No one argued so Elsa and Anna happily left the Palace for their explorations.

* * *

The two found themselves exploring Solitude for the entirety of the day. The had stopped back at Radiant Raiments so that Elsa could give the high elf sisters a heads up that a few dress orders would be coming in soon. The sisters were overjoyed by the thought that they let Anna keep the outfit for free.

"Now you have something to wear for dinner." Elsa had joked as the Companion happily changed back into her armor.

Now they were out in the marketplace where Anna could see all the stands. It was much like Whiterun's market with a select few differences. Instead of meat like venison, fish was sold here. Elsa vouched for the fish, saying that it was always freshly caught.

Anna loved watching how Elsa interacted with her people. She treated them all kindly. It almost made her wonder about the two boys at the stable. Did Elsa even know about them? Surely she didn't. If the Princess knew then they would have a warm place to sleep, right? The whole thing was irksome.

"Did you stable Joan at the farm?" Elsa asked once she pulled herself away from the market stalls.

"Yes." Anna responded hesitantly.

"I assume you met John and Michael then. Such good boys and hard workers. I do adore them." Apparently Elsa could read minds because John and Michael had been on her mind all day.

"They sleep outside in the cold." Anna replied almost angrily. "Even stable hands in Whiterun don't sleep outside." There was a little beggar girl, but even she was given shelter from the elements. The Companions often brought her in the hall away from the elements. She would run little errands for them from time to time.

"That's not up to me. We've done the best we can with them at this point." Elsa said wearily.

"And what's that Elsa? Letting them sleep in the cold with nothing. Not giving them a home and food or a proper childhood!" Anna snapped at her companion in the middle of the street. Thankfully everyone on the road was too busy to pay attention to the two women. However they seemed smart enough to not interrupt the heated conversation.

Elsa was silent for a moment. When she did speak, she was very quiet. "Have you ever been to Honorhall Orphanage?" The Princess asked her.

"No." Anna responded, still irritated.

"You are lucky." Elsa replied darkly. "It is run by a cruel woman named Grelod the Kind." Even at the mention of her name, Elsa couldn't help but let a shiver run down her spine.

"Talk about ironic." Anna said, trying to make light of the serious situation. She tried to avoid those conversations as much as possible.

"This is not a time for your jokes." Elsa hissed out. "Honorhall is a terrible place for children. By law, all orphans in Skyrim must be sent to the orphanage if the have no place to go."

"So? Sounds like they would have a place to stay." Anna fought back weakly.

"John, Michael and their sister Wendy are all orphans. Katla took them in after their mother died and gave them jobs. They had no room to spare for beds so the slept in the stables. The town does what it can to provide little things for the kids. We've given them tents, bedrolls, clothes and a way for them to at least survive." Elsa explained to Anna. "While their life isn't perfect, it is definitely better than being in that miniature plane of Oblivion."

"... So this Grelod character... Is she still there at the Orphanage?" Anna asked her, making a mental note to go destroy this woman who treats orphans poorly.

"I've heard rumors that she was murdered, by the Dark Brotherhood itself! But they are just rumors. She was alive and well when I was in Riften a few weeks back." Just before she had met Anna actually.

It was strange to Elsa that she only knew Anna for just a few weeks, but it felt as if they had been close for many years. Elsa felt very comfortable around the Companion and she could not figure out why. It was enjoyable though.

"You're really good with children, Elsa." Anna commented, remembering how the woman acted with the kids earlier that day. "Sorry I jumped to conclusions… again."

"I adore children. I'd love to have my own someday." Elsa replied with a smile. "And it's fine. I just wish I could do more. I'd adopt them if I could."

"You'd be a good mom." Elsa didn't reply, just flushed and looked away from the Companion.

The two continued their exploration of the city for the rest of the day. They visited all the shops, every stall in the marketplace and even went to the docks where they convinced Vittoria Vici to send up the spices for San's Spiced Wine. The two got a bottle of spiced wine which they would save for later. Anna had yet to try it but Elsa promises her it was amazing.

The two took dinner at The Winking Skeever much to Anna's disgust. But the meal was good. Not a trace of Skeever in it. In the end Anna got a room at the inn and Elsa bid her a good night. There was no goodnight kiss or bedtime cuddles like they had back in Morthal. Just a quick goodbye and Elsa fled the inn with a slightly red face.

When she returned to the Palace, Elisif was waiting up for her. They two vanished to the Jarl's room for some much needed girl talk.

* * *

Anna met Kristoff, the Bard, the very next day. Elsa had invited the man on a ride with them early the next morning. They all had a quick ride to the Lighthouse and back.

Kristoff was a huge guy. He was as big as Adam and probably even her cousin Hercules! Broad shouldered, strong arms and chest. He was probably ripped - but Anna wasn’t too interested in that. The guy had blonde hair. Not blonde like elsa’s hair but blonde like most nords. It was a sandy blonde, much like her Uncle Kai before he went grey. He rode the reindeer that Anna saw with Marsh and Joan earlier. They seemed like good friends (though Anna had no idea how he managed to tame a reindeer).

His deer seemed like it made great friends with Joan, the group of animals had been playing together before their ride. His name was Sven. Sven particularly like Olaf who was also traveling with them today. The white dog stuck very closely to Elsa and Marsh’s side but often looked back wto Anna happily. Apparently he could tell she was not entirely human.

During their quick ride, Kristoff had spoke about the main complaint in the Bard’s College. The Burning of King Olaf festival. When Anna thought of king Olaf, instantly Elsa’s Wolf-Dog came to mind. It probably wasn’t the same but the thought was hilarious.

“C’mon Elsa, the College really needs this.” Kristoff asked Elsa for what seemed to be the hundredth time. They had gone up to the lighthouse to show Anna what it looked like. Supposedly Elsa practiced there once upon a time.

“I’ve tried Kristoff. Elisif thinks it’s too violent with the war and Torygg’s… Well you know.” Elsa responded.

“It will boost the city’s morale and you know it.” Kristoff tried again. “A lot of the merchants depend on the festival to get a lot of their income.” The Bard was desperate. Anna could practically smell the desperation on him. She also could notice the ice forming along Elsa’s fingers.

“Look, Kristoffer,” Anna started off.

“Kristoff.” Both Elsa and Kristoff corrected.

“Whatever.” Anna huffed, “Elsa’s probably done all she can. Is there anything that you Bards can do to convince the Jarl?”

Kristoff leaned back while riding Sven. “Well…” The blonde started off, “Viarmo was talking about going to find King Olaf’s Verse. That may be able to change the Jarl’s mind if we read it to her.” He then turned to face Elsa, ”What do you think?”

“It sounds like the only idea you have and your only chance.” Elsa responded as diplomatically as ever.

“Great!” Anna chirped, “When do we leave?”

The Dragonborn didn’t expect to be leaving thats day, but one hour later she and Kristoff were racing off through the marshland southwest of Morthal, headed towards the last known resting place of King Olaf’s verse. Elsa was not permitted to join them this time. Apparently she was forced to attend court with Elisif. It was her supposed punishment for not bringing Anna to dinner the night before. To help her endure the punishment, Olaf stayed behind as well.

The two had stopped in Morthal for a quick lunch (with Adam) before following the Hjaal river down to where Dead man’s Respite sat. It was rumored to be the tomb where King Olaf himself was laid to rest. When they reached the place, Anna couldn’t help but shiver with anticipation. No doubt there would be Draugr here.

“You skilled in combat?” She asked Kristoff as he dismounted his reindeer.

“I train with the soldiers under Legate Hercules when I have free time.” Kristoff told Anna as he made sure his armor and steel mace were ready. He had simple leather armor with no helmet.

“You’re one of Herc’s boys? Oh good, we should be fine.” If Kristoff was trained under her cousin, Anna had no doubt that the man was skilled enough to help find this poetic doohickey. “Lets go get us a book- yeah that sounds even worse when you say it out loud…”

“No worries. With any luck it will be boring in here.” Kristoff replied as he pushed open the massive doors to the tomb.

“Kristoff, this is Skyrim. It is never boring.”

* * *

Taking Kristoff into the nordic barrow was probably the best idea Anna ever had. The man may be a bard but he sure knew how to fight. It was later that he admitted to dueling Elsa a few times and having been taught under High King Torygg as a kid. He really downplayed his skills but definitely came through for Anna. While this was clearly his first time in one of these tombs, he did help her with some puzzles… and helped her kill King Olaf a second time.

Turns out he was not as nice as Elsa’s dog, Olaf.

They approached Solitude at dawn on the next day. They had stopped in Morthal late the night before for a meal and bed and continued on just before dawn.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see the walls of Solitude in my life.” Kristoff said as he and Anna walked up the cobblestone path to the cliffside city.

“Does it make you reconsider wanting to joining the Legion?” During their time in the tunnels, Kristoff admitted that he wanted to fight in the Legion to bring honor to his mother and Skyrim. It was why he trained so hard under Hercules.

“Not at all.” The blonde said honestly. “My mother brought me to Solitude when I was a baby so that we could have a better life here. Said she knew I was destined for greatness after she had me and if it was true, then Solitude would be a good place to raise me.”

“Where are you from originally then?” Anna asked curiously.

“Dunno. Supposedly there was nothing there but death.”

Anna accepted her answer and the two passed through the mighty gates of Solitude. What awaited them on the other side was a sight neither were prepared for. On a platform as they entered the great city, stood a man in rough prisoner’s garb. Next to him stood Legate Hercules, Anna’s cousin and oddly enough Elsa and Jarl Elisif.

Elsa stood in the finest dress that Anna had ever seen her wear. It was dark blue with a crimson and silver bodice. She had a snow white fur cloak which attached with silver fastenings. Her hair was up in an immaculate bun and her whole outfit was complete with a silver circlet infused with flawless sapphires. She truly looked the part of princess.

Elisif stood beside her wearing equally fine clothing. Her dress was similar to Elsa’s but black with a crimson and gold bodice. Her cloak was crimson with the exception of the stark white fur collar. The cloak had gold fastenings as well and on her head was a gold circlet with flawless rubies. It was a drastic change from the Jarl she had met two days prior.

“Kristoff? What’s going on?” Anna asked in a low tone.

“Roggvir’s execution.” Kristoff growled. “Because of him, Ulfric Stormcloak escaped after her murdered High King Torygg.” He spoke of the man with such hatred that even Anna was shocked. He seemed like such a warm fellow.

“Positions.” Hercules barked to the guards who stood below the platform.They all stood close together, to prevent the angered citizens of Solitude from jumping onto the stone platform.

Finally it was Jarl Elisif who spoke. “Roggvir.” She said to him, her voice cracked as she uttered his name. “You have been charged with treason by opening the gate to let Ulfric Stormcloak escape after her murdered my husband Torygg, your High King. What have you to say for yourself.”

The angry mob boo’ed and screamed at the man in rags. They didn’t believe he should even have a chance to defend himself. The guards below quickly shut them up. Once the chaos calmed, the prisoner spoke.

“There was no murder! Ulfric challenged Torygg and beat the High King in fair combat.”

“How dare you speak his name so familiarly!” Elisif screeched. The Jarl tensed in her spot and looked as if she was going to lunge for him. It was Elsa, who placed a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to relax her body.

“Forgive me Lady Elisif.” The man started. He was quickly interrupted by Elsa.

“That is Jarl Elisif to you, prisoner.” The dark tone in the blonde’s voice surprised Anna.

“Jarl Elisif.” The man corrected himself calmly. “And I apologize to you, High Princes Elsa, on the loss of your brother. But Jarl Ulfric bested him in in combat. Such is the way of our people. Such as the ancient custom of Skyrim and all Nords!”

Angered shouts filled the city. Everyone was shouting at the prisoner. Everyone except Elsa, Elisif (who was crying silently), Hercules, the guards and Anna. Kristoff had joined the masses, screaming angrily how the man should not live. How he needed to die.

It was during the angered frenzy when Elsa’s gaze met Anna’s. Instead of light blue eyes that were always full of joy and hope, all Anna saw was pain, suffering and sorrow. It made her rethink everything she had ever thought before. She needed to see the war from Elsa’s side and how it affected and was affecting her. The High King was her brother first and foremost, and now he was dead.

Teal eyes caught sight of a familiar weapon. Elsa’s skyforge steel blade. It was hanging off to her side. Suddenly it hit her. Princess Elsa was Roggvir’s executioner. By the look that the princess had on her face, Anna knew she had no choice.

Such a thing was rare to see. According to tradition that dated long before Nords even came to Skyrim, if a member of a noble or royal clan was murdered; the murderer's executioner often would be the next official head of house. It showed the strength of the next leader of that family. Even though Jarl Elisif was Torygg's wife, Head of the family still fell to Elsa. She was the High Princess for two different High Kings. While Roggvir wasn't Torygg's killer, this was the perfect way for the royal family to showcase their strength.

Their eyes met again and a silent conversation passed through.

_Forgive me for what I have to do, Anna._

_There is nothing to forgive, Elsa. I know you have to do it._

_I would like your forgiveness all the same._

_Then you have it._

Legate Hercules forced the prisoner down nice and easy. Well, he tried but the stubborn Nord dropped to his knees all on his own.

“As per ancient tradition, Roggvir, as you seem to love them; High Princess Elsa will take your life in exchange for her brother’s.” Hercules told the man solemnly. His gaze shifted to Elsa who stepped forward.

The princess gracefully unsheathed her blade. In one fluid motion, she brought it above her head, waiting for her moment to strike. “You let my brother’s murder escape.” Elsa growled darkly. The former guard scoffed and declared that he would go to Sovngarde for his honor.

Something seemed to snap in Elsa. Uncontrollable rage filled her and her magic crackled all around her. Then with deadly force, she brought the blade down. “You will never dine in Shor’s Halls!” The princess cried out in anguish. In one swift motion, Elsa had cut through Roggvir’s neck. As she brought the blade down, jagged ice spikes formed where her magic made contact with solid walls.

The ice shot straight up and out, causing the guards at the front to jump and back away from the Princess. However the ice along the path where the sword had traveled was not nearly as shocking as the jagged spikes of ice that had burst through Roggvir’s body. Even Elsa’s own blade was coated in sharp icicles.

The sword fell from Elsa’s grasps and hit the stone loudly. No one dared move, not wanting to incur Elsa’s wrath. The watched as the small frame of their princess shook. She had not moved a single step from her position by Roggvir’s mangled form. " _Zu'u hind faal Lir du hin sil_." Elsa croaked out, her voice emotionless.

Anna moved first. The Companion stumbled her way through the crowd and to the stairs of the platform. Thankfully there was no ice by the steps. Looking cautiously at Elisif (who was furiously wiping her tears) Anna slowly moved up the steps. Her eyes caught Hercules mumbling orders to a guard. Once Anna reached the top of the steps, the guards started dispersing the crowd to give the royal family time alone.

“Elsa.” Anna called out gently from behind the princess. She reached down and swiftly picked up the blade from her feet before offering it to her. “Now this is no way to treat a fine blade such as this. I know for a fact that Eorlund doesn’t make skyforge steel anything for people outside the Companions.” When Elsa said nothing, Anna continued. "I imagine he has a sixth sense or something. Whenever one of his blades are treated badly, he just knows. I imagine he has his ear to the ground and follows the sound of idiots with swords."

That mental picture seemed to have sparked an interest in Elsa. The princess turned around to see the Companion wearing a dopey smile, as if to cheer her up. Soon a watery smile covered Elsa's face; taking in the ridiculousness that was Anna. She reached out for the blade and took it from her friend’s hands. Elsa held it up to the sun, letting the light bounce off it harmlessly before speaking. “I never named this, you know.” She told Anna quietly, her voice still slightly hoarse from crying. “I never had a good name until now.”

“And what is that, Princess?” Anna asked curiously.

“ _Iizdinok_.” Elsa said seriously. She sipped the blade back into her holster before speaking again. “Ice death.”

Anna looked from Elsa, down to Roggvir’s head, up to Elsa and back down to Roggvir. “A fitting name I’d say.” The princess cracked a smile at that. “Come here, you need a hug.”

Elsa didn’t hesitate and flung her arms around the woman. “You smell like skeever.” Elsa mumbled out.

“Well I promise I didn’t crush any this time.” A small chuckle sounded from that. The memory of their first real exploration together. When Elsa learned that Anna was the Dragonborn. It seemed so long ago but in reality was so short. “Come on, lets go see Kristoff.” The redhead decided quickly. “We have good news, we got the poem thing. Now we can read it to your sister and bring back the festival. Everyone needs a good festival about now anyway.”

And so they found Kristoff (who also smelled like Skeever) and they headed to the Bards College to give Viarmo King Olaf’s Lost Verse.

* * *

 

“What do you mean it’s incomplete?” Elsa asked the Headmaster at the Bard’s College. She, Anna, and Kristoff stood in front of the professor as he read through the verse.

The man showed the three the blotted out parts in the book containing the lost verse.

“But we need it to read to Jarl Elisif!” Kristoff complained.

“Without it no festival will happen!” Elsa added on, mildly panicked. The festival would be the best way to make people feel better. The college already had everything set up, they just needed Elisif's approval. If they got it today in court, everything could be set up later that night for a grand celebration!

“Why don’t we just make it up?” Anna asked the small group.

The three looked at the Companion if she was crazy. “That is crazy enough it just may work.” Headmaster Viarmo said. The man flipped through the pages of the lost verse, reading it to himself before he let out a cheer. “Yes yes! I can easily copy the style! We can add in our own details!”

“Well lets get started, Viarmo! Court starts soon!” Elsa replied excitedly. “What does the first bit say?”

_“O, Olaf, our subjugator, the one-eyed betrayer; death-dealing demon and dragon-killing King. Your legend is lies, lurid and false; your cunning capture of Numinex, a con for the ages.”_ The Headmaster read dramatically.

“Wait, King Olaf was Olaf One-Eye? How strange.” Elsa mumbled out, bewildered.

“Let’s make it say that Olaf was really Numinex! A dragon but in human form!” Anna said excitedly.

“Anna. Numinex’s skull decorates the grant entry of Dragonsreach. And you and Kristoff fought the draugr version of him. And I’m pretty sure he had a head when you fought him. No one is going to believe that.” Elsa said quickly. “We should say that he made a deal with Numinex.”

“Or he found him asleep,” Kristoff added quickly.

“No because history says there were witnesses saying that they had a shouting match.” Elsa rattled off quickly. “Now they two could have made a deal and then faked the match the entire time. That is totally plausible.”

“Wow Elsa, didn't know you were so boring.” Anna mumbled with a slight pout. “Fine we put that they made a deal. What next?”

_"Olaf grabbed power, by promise and threat; From Falkreath to Winterhold, they fell to their knees; But Solitude stood strong, Skyrim's truest protectors. Olaf's vengeance was instant, inspired and wicked. "_

“Um… Well history says that-”

“No one cares what History says, Elsa.” Anna commented. “They want something action packed! Something thrilling! Something like Olaf attacking and used magic to blame Solitude. And thats where everyone’s hate of magic started!”

“Anna, the Nords didn’t hate magic until long after Olaf’s time.” Elsa deadpanned. “If you want something action packed and tricky then maybe he disguised troops and made them attack.”

“Ooh, thinking devious Elsa. I like it.”

“Or he could, I don’t know, convince Solitude to attack?” Kristoff added offhandedly.

The two women looked at him. “Nah.”

“Well if we all agree on having the troops disguised, then I think I have our story down.” Viarmo spoke up as he finished writing. “Shall we head to court?”

“Oh let me go ahead. I need to be at court anyway.” Elsa said quickly.

“I’ll go with her. Give us a few minutes head start so we don’t look suspicious.”

The two made it to the Blue palace in a few minutes, completely out of breath. The two climbed up the steps and took a seat. Elsa in her throne and Anna in a comfortable chair next to The Duchess.

As predicted the the two, Viarmo and Kristoff had arrived first at the court to present their findings. Viarmo did his dramatic reading and even Elisif was moved. The reading itself was a bit dry. Bards definitely had came a long way from King Olaf’s time. But the meaning behind the Verse was not lost. One look at Elisif told Elsa everything she needed to know, the Bards had won.

Just as predicted, the Jarl declared the festival back on and there was much rejoicing. Elsa, Anna and Kristoff raced through the streets proclaiming the festivities were back. Within two hours everyone knew about the festival. The Bards spent the day practicing, the vendors were stocking up on their goods to sell. And everyone who was anyone of great importance, was doing their shopping at Radiant Raiments to get the latest styles. After all, such important festivities meant showing off who had the most money. Even Elsa couldn’t help but get a new dress (even though she had some being made already).

By the time night approached, all people in Solitude were dressed up to the nines. Jarl Elisif ended court early so that she could get dressed up. The Burning of King Olaf Festival was the first cause of joy in the city for quite some time.

“Now before we truly begin this festival,” Viarmo said standing by the effigy of “King Olaf” with his torch. “I wish to extend my thanks to Kristoff. You all know and love this valiant Reindeer King-” His speech was cut off by cheers coming from the surrounding people. “It was he who brought back King Olaf’s Lost Verse! Without him, we would not have this!” More cheers sounded, the loudest from Elsa and Anna.

Kristoff stood next to Viarmo waving awkwardly to everyone. “Well I had help.” The young man added quickly. “It wasn’t all me.”

“Yes it was!” Anna shouted out. Kristoff fought with her as an equal. She considered him a shield-brother, and because of that she wanted him to take the credit for what he did. After all, he had the idea.

“In honor of our dear Kristoff, we at the College have decided that you have officially earned the right to become a fully fledged bard!” Viarmo called out. Everyone cheered happily for the blonde man. He seemed shocked by the sudden announcement, but it soon turned to happiness. “Now without further delay! Let the Burning of King Olaf begin!”

Kristoff was given the torch and he happily lit the effigy. Claps and cheers rang out as the massive effiy went up in flames. The flames danced on in the night just like the people below. The night was full of dancing, singing, sweets and San’s Spiced Wine!

The first song of the night was one by Kristoff himself. He had made up the tune about his and Anna’s trip into the tomb that day. It focused on Svaknir’s story (that he had told Kristoff and Anna). Elsa had started calling it Svaknir’s Story and by the end of the night, it had stuck with everyone. After Kristoff’s song, everyone enjoyed the night by dancing. Elsa found herself dancing all night with almost everyone! Half of the Princesses dances were dominated by a certain Companion who had far too much fun. She was also probably a little drunk, but that always made nights more fun.

When the night came to the close, Anna walked Elsa back to the palace like any chivalrous warrior.

“You did good today Companion.” Elsa told her quietly. The two stood at the threshold between the Blue Palace courtyard and the pathway leading up to it.

“Well you know me, always trying to help.” Anna replied, not meeting the Princess’ gaze.

“Well thank you, Anna.” Elsa said kindly. “It means a lot to all of us.”

Anna smiled and shrugged under her armor (it was surprising how easily she moved in it).

“I’m glad you’re here with me.” Elsa finally confessed. “It’s going to be a hard month, but I’m glad I have you to get through it with me.”

“I’m glad I actually have some vacation time. It’s nice to see something that isn’t Whiterun.”

Elsa laughed at that. “Well this is the Capital of Skyrim.” The blonde said with a smile. “But we have work to do too.” The princess added. “You’ll have to tell me everything tomorrow.”

“Will you have time?”

“It’s Loredas tomorrow.” Elsa said simply. “Our workload is cut in half on the weekends. I have nothing important happening until the eighth, and that is Mondas.”

“Well then I’ll be up here tomorrow morning and we can go talk.” Anna decided quickly. Being a werewolf she never slept well so she would definitely be awake in the morning.

“Sounds good.” Elsa said with a smile. “Well, good night.”

“Good night.” Anna replied quietly.

The two lingered in their spots for a moment. Neither wanted to leave the other, but they knew they needed to go. Their eyes met and Anna acted. With quick reflexes befitting a warrior, Anna reached out to cup Elsa’s cheeks in her hand. She then gently pulled the princess into a kiss.

Their lips met in a gentle kiss. Neither woman knew how long they stayed like that, but it was perfect.

“We can talk about this tomorrow too.” Anna said once the kiss was broken.

“I look forward to it.” Elsa mumbled out, still a bit hazy from the kiss. “See you for breakfast?”

“It’s a date.” Anna replied with a wink. With that she waved goodbye and headed back to her room at the Winking Skeever (much to her displeasure).

Elsa watched her leave before turning on her heels and walking into the Palace. “You two saw nothing.” Elsa told the two guards at the door.

“Of course, ma’am.” They responded in unison.

Nodding, Elsa passed into the Palace and made her way to her room. She was soon fast asleep with dreams dancing, drinking and dining on fine foods from all over with Anna.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my Skyrim Elsanna fic. This has been floating around Fanfiction for a while but with the Critics United, I found it best to post it here. Just in case. For those who have read this on Fanfiction, I've been doing my best to fix the spelling errors and other grammatical errors from Fanfiction (grammar has never been my strong suit). I am always looking from someone who can help me out in the grammar department! Hope you enjoy your read, friends! I'll be posting chapter's pretty slowly on here (as I'm trying to edit the later chapters). Enjoy!


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